Multifunctional carbon aerogels from typha orientalis for applications in adsorption: Hydrogen storage, CO2 capture and VOCs removal

Abstract

Biomass-derived cellulose carbon aerogels with a 3D network structure were synthesized from Typha Orientalis (TO). The TO cellulose carbon aerogels feature light mass (3.65 mg/cm3), super-hydrophobicity, and large specific surface areas (1840 cm2/g). Because of the outstanding microporous volume and the abundant functional groups, the TO carbon aerogels can be used as multifunctional adsorbent materials in different applications. The results demonstrate that the material has 0.6 wt% hydrogen storage capacity at room temperature, 16 mmol/g CO2, 123.31 mg/g o-xylene and 124.57 mg/g o-dichlorobenzene adsorption capacity. The o-xylene adsorption capabilities of the sample were reduced by just 12% after four thermal regeneration cycles, demonstrating the realistically good reusability of TO cellulose carbon aerogels and is expected to be applied to dioxin removal. The current research can offer a green approach to fabricating ultra-light TO cellulose carbon aerogels with promising applications in energy storage and environmental protection. In addition, the preparation can be applied for the fabrication of other multifunctional aerogels by solid waste for different applications.