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One-pot fabrication of hydrophilic-oleophobic cellulose nanofiber-silane composite aerogels for selectively absorbing water from oil–water mixtures

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Abstract

While cellulose nanofiber is advantageous for the preparation of porous materials with selective absorption, cellulose-based, hydrophilic-oleophobic aerogels are only prepared through complicated surface-modification. Herein, we report a facile one-pot fabrication of hydrophilic-oleophobic composite aerogels firstly through polycondensation of cellulose nanofiber and three silane coupling agents. The hydrophilic-oleophobic aerogels exhibited interconnected macroporous structures, robust compressive property (without failure at a high strain of 80%), excellent water resistance (without failure even at 100 °C, pH = 1 or pH = 12), the ability to selectively absorb water from oil–water mixtures, and excellent reusability (without significant decrease in hexadecane contact angle and absorption capacity after five absorption–regeneration cycles). The facile one-pot polycondensation and unique hydrophilicity-oleophobicity enabled the aerogels to be practical for removing water from oil–water mixtures.

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Acknowledgements

Funding support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (51703149) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M651943) is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Zhu Wu, Tao Zhang, Haiyan Zhang, Riping Liu, Huanjie Chi, Xiaomin Li, Shanchi Wang & Yan Zhao

  2. National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Yan Zhao

Authors
  1. Zhu Wu
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  2. Tao Zhang
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  3. Haiyan Zhang
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  4. Riping Liu
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  5. Huanjie Chi
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  6. Xiaomin Li
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  7. Shanchi Wang
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  8. Yan Zhao
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Correspondence to Tao Zhang or Yan Zhao.

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Wu, Z., Zhang, T., Zhang, H. et al. One-pot fabrication of hydrophilic-oleophobic cellulose nanofiber-silane composite aerogels for selectively absorbing water from oil–water mixtures. Cellulose 28, 1443–1453 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03610-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03610-y

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