Study on microcrystalline cellulose/chitosan blend foam gel material

Abstract

Abstract In the present contribution, an environmental-friendly and cost-effective adsorbent was reported for soil treatment and desertification control. A novel foam gel material was synthesized here by the physical foaming in the absence of catalyst. By adopting modified microcrystalline cellulose and chitosan as raw materials and sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) as foaming agent, a microcrystalline cellulose/chitosan blend foam gel was synthesized. It is expected to replace polymers derived from petroleum for agricultural applications. In addition, a systematical study was conducted on the adsorbability, water holding capacity and re-expansion performance of foam gel in deionized water and brine under different SDS concentrations (2%–5%) as well as adsorption time. To be specific, the adsorption capacity of foam gel was up to 105g/g in distilled water and 54g/g in brine, indicating a high water absorption performance. As revealed from the results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, both the amino group of chitosan and the aldehyde group modified by cellulose were involved. According to the results of Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, the foam gel was found to exhibit an interconnected pore network with uniform pore space. As suggested by Bet analysis, the macroporous structure was formed in the sample, and the pore size ranged from 0 to 170nm. The mentioned findings demonstrated that the foam gel material of this study refers to a potential environmental absorbent to improve soil and desert environments. It can act as a powerful alternative to conventional petroleum derived polymers.