Bacterial Cellulose-Based Hybrid Nanocomposite Materials

4 Bacterial Cellulose-Based Hybrid Nanocomposite Materials 

The preparation of hybrid materials based on BC comprises a limited number of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) such as a few metals (silver [211-231], selenium [214, 232-234], gold [223, 224, 235], nickel [236, 237], platinum [210] and palladium/cop-per [238]), metal oxides (silica [239-247], titanium oxide [242, 248-255], iron oxides [209, 221, 256-267], zinc oxide [268-270], vanadium oxide [254]), calcium phosphate 

Over the next sections an overview of the most relevant examples of BC hybrid nanocomposite materials with distinct inorganic nanophases will be presented, with particular emphasis on the preparation approaches and targeted functional properties. 

1 Bacterial Cellulose Hybrids with Silver Nanoparticles (BC/Ag NPs) 

The ex situ approach involves the previous preparation of the Ag NPs colloid and then the impregnation of the BC membrane [221], leading to a more heterogeneous distribution of the NPs, or even limited to the outmost surface of the membrane. For instance, the deposition of Ag NPs can be easily controlled by a previous layer by layer (LbL) sequential deposition of polyelectrolytes, such as poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS), onto the BC nanofibers surface aiming at promoting a more homogeneous and adequate surface charge distribution [220]. 

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