Cellulose fiber (CF) paper is a low-cost,
sustainable, and flexible
substrate, which has gained increasing interest recently. Before practical
usage, the functionalization of the pristine CF paper is indispensable
to meet requirements of specific applications. Different from conventional
surface modification or physical mixing methods, we report in situ growth of ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAPNWs)
with lengths larger than 10 μm on the CF paper. HAPNWs are radially
aligned on the surface of CFs, creating a micro/nanoscale hierarchical
structure. By means of the excellent ion exchange ability of HAP and
the hierarchical structure, the functions of the CF paper can be easily
customized. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate two kinds of functional
CF paper: (1) the photoluminescent CF paper by doping Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions into the crystal lattice of HAPNWs and
(2) the superhydrophobic CF paper by coating poly(dimethylsiloxane)
on the HAPNW hierarchical structure, which can be applied for self-cleaning
and oil/water separation. It is expected that an in situ growth of ultralong HAPNWs will provide an instructive guideline
for designing a CF paper with specific functions.