Facile Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Cross-Linked Nanocellulose Aerogels for Oil–Water Separation
Qianqian Shang,
Jianqiang Chen,
Yun Hu,
Xiaohui Yang,
Lihong Hu,
Chengguo Liu,
Xiaoli Ren,
Yonghong Zhou
Affiliations
Qianqian Shang
Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF, Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Key and Open Lab. of Forest Chemical Engineering, SFA, National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China
Jianqiang Chen
Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Yun Hu
Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF, Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Key and Open Lab. of Forest Chemical Engineering, SFA, National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China
Xiaohui Yang
Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF, Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Key and Open Lab. of Forest Chemical Engineering, SFA, National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China
Lihong Hu
Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF, Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Key and Open Lab. of Forest Chemical Engineering, SFA, National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China
Chengguo Liu
Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF, Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Key and Open Lab. of Forest Chemical Engineering, SFA, National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China
Xiaoli Ren
Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF, Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Key and Open Lab. of Forest Chemical Engineering, SFA, National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China
Yonghong Zhou
Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, CAF, Key Lab. of Biomass Energy and Material, Key and Open Lab. of Forest Chemical Engineering, SFA, National Engineering Lab. for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China
A facile and environmental-friendly approach was developed for the preparation of the cross-linked nanocellulose aerogel through the freeze-drying process and subsequent esterification. The as-prepared aerogel had a three-dimensional cellular microstructure with ultra-low density of 6.05 mg·cm−3 and high porosity (99.61%). After modifying by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HTMS), the nanocellulose aerogel displayed stable super-hydrophobicity and super-oleophilicity with water contact angle of 151°, and had excellent adsorption performance for various oil and organic solvents with the adsorption capacity of 77~226 g/g. Even after 30 cycles, the adsorption capacity of the nanocellulose aerogel for chloroform was as high as 170 g/g, indicating its outstanding reusability. Therefore, the superhydrophobic cross-linked nanocellulose aerogel is a promising oil adsorbent for wastewater treatment.
