Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries

Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries

The Effect of Nanographene, Fluorine, and Zein as Coating Pigments on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Printing Paper

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Jafar Ebrahimpour Kasmani 1
Ahmad Samariha 2
Mohammad Farsi 3
1 Department of Wood and Paper Engineering, Savadkooh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Savadkooh, Iran
2 Department of Engineering sciences, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Wood and Paper, Sari.C., Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
10.22034/ijwp.2025.2069658.1722
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The writing produced by the Mazandaran Wood and Paper Company is typically used for book printing. While foreign writing papers benefit from high strength due to the use of chemical pulp, domestic writing papers face challenges in terms of strength and dimensional stability due to the use of substandard raw materials. This research aims to leverage nanotechnology and mineral coatings, such as fluorine, which are abundantly available in certain regions of the country. The primary objective of this study is to address the physical and mechanical issues of domestic writing papers, enabling the products from this factory to be offered to printing houses and reputable printing companies within the country with enhanced quality.
Methodology: For this purpose, 70-gram writing paper was prepared and tested. To coat the paper surface, graphene, zein, and fluorine, along with styrene-butadiene latex, were separately weighed in specified weight percentages. Depending on the treatment conditions, these materials were mixed in a blender at 1500 RPM for 20 minutes to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Before conducting the tests, both control and coated samples were placed in standard environmental conditions (20 degrees Celsius and 65% relative humidity). To determine the physical and mechanical properties of the papers, a minimum of 10 repetitions for each sample were conducted according to standard methods.
Results: The physical property of density shows that the highest values are associated with papers coated with zein. The lowest absorption rates are found in papers coated with zein and nanographene, while the lowest porosity is observed in papers coated with zein, fluorine, and nanographene. These results indicate the formation of a dense network and a significant blockage of water passage by these coating materials. In terms of surface smoothness, the highest values are attributed to zein and nanographene papers, which is due to the two-dimensional structure and high specific surface area of nanographene. Finally, the greatest resistance to tensile stress, bursting, and tearing is found in papers coated with fluorine-graphene and zein-graphene, respectively. In fact, nanographene, as a reinforcing material with a regular and resilient structure, can enhance the mechanical properties of the paper. These findings highlight the superior performance of papers coated with zein and nanographene.
Conclusion: The results indicated that coating led to an increase in thickness and surface smoothness, a decrease in water absorption, porosity, and tensile strength, as well as a relative increase in tear resistance. The most significant finding was a 643% reduction in water absorption. In addition to the decreased water absorption, coating the printing paper with nanographene and fluorine resulted in a 26% increase in thickness and tear resistance index compared to the control samples. Moreover, no significant change was observed in burst resistance; however, the tensile resistance index experienced a slight decrease.
Keywords
Coating
Graphene
Protein zein
Physical Properties
Mechanical Properties

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries
Volume 16, Issue 4
Winter 2026
Pages 547-562