Abstract
Aerogels are a series of materials with porous structure and light weight which can be applied to many industrial divisions as insulators, sensors, absorbents, and cushions. In this study, cellulose-based aerogels (aerocelluloses) were prepared from cellulosic material (microcrystalline cellulose) in sodium hydroxide/water solvent system followed by supercritical drying operation. The average specific surface area of aerocelluloses was 124 m2/g. The nitrogen gas (N2) adsorption/desorption isotherms revealed type H1 hysteresis loops for aerocelluloses, suggesting that aerocelluloses may possess a porous structure with cylindrically shaped pores open on both ends. FTIR and XRD analyses showed that the crystallinity of aerocelluloses was significantly decreased as compared to microcrystalline cellulose and that aerocelluloses exhibited a crystalline structure of cellulose II as compared to microcrystalline cellulose (cellulose I). To perform cationic functionalization, a cationic agent, (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride, was used to introduce positively charged sites on aerocelluloses. The cationized aerocelluloses exhibited a strong ability to remove anionic dyes from wastewater. Highly porous and low cost aerocelluloses prepared in this study would be also promising as a fast absorbent for environmental pollutants.
Highlights
Aerogels are materials having a remarkable porous structure with pores filled with air rather than liquid [1]
We prepared aerocelluloses using a “solgel” process by dissolving MCC in NaOH/water solvent system followed by gelation and supercritical drying operations
The aerocellulose prepared from 5% cellulose concentration appears to be fluffier than aerocelluloses prepared from 9% and 11% cellulose concentrations, suggesting that 5% aerocellulose may have a more porous structure
Summary
Aerogels are materials having a remarkable porous structure with pores filled with air rather than liquid [1]. Aerocelluloses are one of the most valuable and environmentally friendly products that are derived from cellulosic materials They were first developed using cellulose acetates dissolved in acetone followed by gelation and supercritical drying processes and the resultant aerocelluloses exhibited a fairly high specific surface area (∼300 m2/g) [13]. Form microcrystalline cellulose, by dissolving it in calcium thiocyanate, followed by Journal of Materials being gelatinized and dehydrated by solvent exchange drying to achieve a porous structure with a specific surface area of 190 m2/g [14]. In addition to supercritical drying, the freeze-drying was used to prepare porous cellulose materials which can be denoted as cryogels By using both calcium thiocyanate and LiCl/DMAc solvents, the surface area of cellulose cryogels could achieve around 160 m2/g [17]. Due to the high surface area of aerocelluloses as well as the low cost, cationized aerocelluloses could be a candidate for wastewater clarification
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