Hydrothermal synthesis of bacterial cellulose/AgNPs composite: A “green” route for antibacterial application

► A green route was proposed to synthesize AgNPs by hydrothermal synthesis. ► AgNPs of small size (17 nm) were synthesized on BC matrix. ► BC served as both the reducing and stabilizing agent in a gently heated system. ► Long-term antibacterial performance was obtained by BC/AgNPs composites.