Research on the construction and properties of waste cotton cellulose/carbon dots composite antibacterial hydrogel

Abstract

Abstract The recycling and utilization of waste cotton fabrics is of great significance to implement green pollution reduction and carbon reduction. In order to realize the high value-added utilization of waste cotton cellulose (WCC) by introducing new carbon dots (CDs), WCC/CDs composite hydrogel with good antibacterial effect were prepared for the application in the field of antibacterial dressings. WCC/CDs composite hydrogel formed by doping different contents of carbon dots (CDs) with WCC hydrogel as raw material and epichlorohydrin (EPI) as crosslinking agent. The structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectrum analysis, the antibacterial properties and swelling properties of WCC/CDs composite hydrogel were tested. The results show that the addition of CDs promoted the gelation of WCC hydrogel, enhanced its structure stability and endowed it with antibacterial properties. WCC/CDs composite hydrogel with 10wt% CDs was more stable, and its modulus reached 91 KPa. Compared with WCC hydrogel the swelling performance of WCC/CDs composite hydrogel was improved, and the swelling rate was 16.81 g·g-1. By destroying the cellular structure of bacteria and promoting the production of ROS, the inhibition rate of E. coil and S. aureus was more than 99%.