Abstract
Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) composite aerogels have been the focus of studies in organic solvent absorption and oil removal fields due to their low density, high absorption capacity, nontoxicity, and biodegradable properties. However, the complicated pretreatment process and increasing environmental concerns restrict the large-scale application of CNF-based materials. Herein, hydrophobic lignin containing nanofibril (LCNF)/poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) aerogels (LPAs) were prepared through freeze-drying and thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of methyl trichlorosilane (MTMS). The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) result showed that the hydrophobic siloxane coating was successfully prepared on the LPA scaffold. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) result showed that the modified LPAs (M-LPAs) exhibited three-dimensional interpenetrating network structure. The aerogel presented outstanding physical properties including low density of 12.95 ± 0.40 mg/cm3, high porosity of 98.99%, high flexibility, and enhanced compressibility due to its homogenous porous structure. The wettability test revealed that the aerogel, with a water contact angle (WCA) up to 146 ± 2°, was highly hydrophobic. The M-LPAs exhibited absorption capacity for various oils and organic solvents and the maximal absorption capacity of M-LPA-0.25 for chloroform could reach 106.80 ± 4.97 g/g aerogel. In addition, M-LPA-0.25 was capable of separating emulsified water/oil mixtures, which extends its potential application. Notably, the aerogel demonstrated good reusability because it still maintained more than 61% of its original absorption capacity after 10 extrusion cycles. The facile technique for the preparation of LCNFs from low-cost lignocellulosic biomass without a chemical bleaching process is green, sustainable. Thus it can be used to fabricate high-efficiency LCNF-based absorbents from agricultural waste for the removal of the oil and industrial organic solvent spills.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Key R & D Program of Shaanxi Province (No. 2021SF-443). Thanks to eceshi (www.eceshi.com) for SEM, BET and mechanical property analysis
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This study was funded by Key R & D Program of Shaanxi Province (2021SF443).
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XC Investigation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing-original draft. MY Investigation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing-review & editing, Funding acquisition, Project administration. XC Investigation, Methodology. LA Investigation, Methodology. KL &YD Formal analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Chen, X., Yang, M., Cai, X. et al. Fabrication of wheat straw-based lignin containing nanofibril aerogels as recyclable absorbents for oil–water separation. Cellulose 31, 497–514 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05636-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05636-4