Preparation and characterization of cellulose/attapulgite composite aerogels with high strength and hydrophobicity

作     者：Sisi Shang Xin Ye Xing Jiang Qi You Ya Zhong Xiaodong Wu Sheng Cui 

作者机构：State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering College of Materials Science and Engineering Nanjing Tech University Nanjing 210009 China Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites Nanjing 210009 PR China Suqian Advanced Materials Industry Technology Innovation Center of Nanjing Tech University China 

出 版 物：《Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids》 

年 卷 期：2021年第569卷

学科分类：07[理学] 070205[理学-凝聚态物理] 08[工学] 080501[工学-材料物理与化学] 0805[工学-材料科学与工程（可授工学、理学学位）] 0703[理学-化学] 0702[理学-物理学] 

主　　题：Aerogels Microcrystalline cellulose Hydroxyethyl cellulose Attapulgite Mechanical property 

摘      要：The development of mechanical enhancement and sustainable absorbents for oil and chemical spills cleaning has attracted wide interest. In this work, novel and low-cost hydrophobic, cellulose/attapulgite (ATP) composite aerogels were prepared by freeze-drying and chemical vapor deposition. The composite aerogels were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunaur-Emmett-Teller (BET), and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The formation of Si-O-Si and C-H bonds observed according to FTIR and XPS indicated that the methyl groups from methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) had been grafted on the composite aerogels. The as-prepared composite aerogels showed high hydrophobicity with water contact angle up to 161.1 °. Moreover, the composite aerogels had three-dimensional pore structures and good thermal stability. Compared to the pure microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) aerogel, the maximum compressive strength of composite aerogel with hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and ATP build blocks was able to reach 1.43 MPa. Therefore, this work provided a low-cost method to prepare robust and sustainable MCC/HEC/ATP composite cellulose aerogels, which could be ideal absorbents for oil adsorption.