Bamboo is susceptible to mould and attack by fungi because of its high content of starch and sugar. To make bamboo-based outdoor materials, a new type of bamboo timber with improved mould resistance and antibacterial activity, coated with reduced graphene oxide and nanocrystal ZnO (abbreviated as RGO@ZnOBT), was fabricated by a two-step dip-dry and hydrothermal process. A possible synthesis mechanism for RGO@ZnOBT was investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope, energy-dispersal X-ray analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. According to the China standard test method, the Aspergillus niger mould resistance of RGO@ZnOBT is grade 2, whereas the Trichoderma viride and Penicillium citrinum mould resistance of RGO@ZnOBT is grade 0, both of which are better than the grade 4 of original bamboo timber. The Escherichia coli resistance test showed that the antibacterial circle of RGO@ZnOBT is 3 mm, which is significantly higher than that of original bamboo timber (0 mm). The antibacterial activity of treated bamboo is significantly improved compared with that of untreated bamboo.

Via a one-step ultrasonication method, cellulose nanofibril/graphene oxide hybrid (GO-CNF) aerogel was successfully prepared. The as-prepared GO-CNF possessed interconnected 3D network microstructure based on GO nanosheets grown along CNF through hydrogen bonds. The aerogel exhibited superior adsorption capacity toward four kinds of antibiotics. The removal percentages (R%) of these antibiotics were 81.5%, 79.5%, 79.1%, and 73.9% for Doxycycline (DXC), Chlortetracycline (CTC), Oxytetracycline (OTC), and tetracycline (TC), respectively. Simultaneously, the adsorption isotherms were well fitted to Langmuir model and kinetics study implied that the adsorption process was attributed to pseudo-second-order model. The maximum theoretical adsorption capacities of GO-CNF were 469.7, 396.5, 386.5, and 343.8 mg·g⁻¹ for DXC, CTC, OTC, and TC, respectively, calculated by the Langmuir isotherm models. After five cycles, importantly, the regenerated aerogels still could be used with little degradation of adsorption property. Consequently, the as-synthesized GO-CNF was a successful application of effective removal of antibiotics.