Synthesis of MnFe₂O₄/cellulose aerogel nanocomposite with strong magnetic responsiveness

Abstract

Cellulose aerogel, with abundant three-dimensional architecture, has been considered as a class of ideal eco-friendly matrix materials to encapsulate various nanoparticles for synthesis of miscellaneous functional materials. In the present paper, hexagonal single-crystalline MnFe₂O₄ was fabricated and inserted into the cellulose aerogel using an in situ chemical precipitation method. The as-prepared MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were well dispersed and immobilized in the micro/nanoscale pore structure of the aerogel, and exhibited superparamagnetic behavior. In addition, the nanocomposite was easily actuated under the effect of an external magnetic field, revealing its strong magnetic responsiveness. Combined with the advantages of environmental benefits, facile synthesis method, strong magnetic responsiveness, and unique structural feature, this class of MnFe₂O₄/cellulose aerogel nanocomposite has possible uses for applications such as magnetically actuated adsorbents.

Keywords

cellulose aerogel / MnFe₂O₄ / magnetic responsiveness / nanocomposite

References

[1] Sehaqui H, Zhou Q, Berglund L A. High-porosity aerogels of high specific surface area prepared from nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC). Composites Science and Technology, 2011, 71(13): 1593–1599

[2] Innerlohinger J, Weber H K, Kraft G. Aerocellulose: aerogels and aerogel-like materials made from cellulose. Macromolecular Symposia, 2006, 244(1): 126–135

[3] Pääkkö M, Vapaavuori J, Silvennoinen R, Kosonen H, Ankerfors M, Lindström T, Berglund L A, Ikkala O. Long and entangled native cellulose I nanofibers allow flexible aerogels and hierarchically porous templates for functionalities. Soft Matter, 2008, 4(12): 2492–2499

[4] Nguyen S T, Feng J, Ng S K, Wong J P W, Tan V B C, Duong H M. Advanced thermal insulation and absorption properties of recycled cellulose aerogels. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2014, 445: 128–134

[5] Xiong R, Lu C, Wang Y, Zhou Z, Zhang X. Nanofibrillated cellulose as the support and reductant for the facile synthesis of Fe₃O₄/Ag nanocomposites with catalytic and antibacterial activity. Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2013, 1(47): 14910–14918

[6] Shi J, Lu L, Guo W, Zhang J, Cao Y. Heat insulation performance, mechanics and hydrophobic modification of cellulose-SiO₂ composite aerogels. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2013, 98(1): 282–289

[7] Leslie-Pelecky D L, Rieke R D. Magnetic properties of nanostructured materials. Chemistry of Materials, 1996, 8(8): 1770–1783

[8] Woo K, Hong J, Choi S, Lee H W, Ahn J P, Kim C S, Lee S W. Easy synthesis and magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles. Chemistry of Materials, 2004, 16(14): 2814–2818

[9] Chin S F, Romainor A N B, Pang S C. Fabrication of hydrophobic and magnetic cellulose aerogel with high oil absorption capacity. Materials Letters, 2014, 115: 241–243

[10] Liu S, Yan Q, Tao D, Yu T, Liu X. Highly flexible magnetic composite aerogels prepared by using cellulose nanofibril networks as templates. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2012, 89(2): 551–557

[11] Wan C, Li J. Facile synthesis of well-dispersed superparamagnetic g-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles encapsulated in three-dimensional architectures of cellulose aerogels and their applications for Cr (VI) removal from contaminated water. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2015, 3(9): 2142–2152

[12] Song Q, Zhang Z J. Controlled synthesis and magnetic properties of bimagnetic spinel ferrite CoFe₂O₄ and MnFe₂O₄ nanocrystals with core-shell architecture. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2012, 134(24): 10182–10190

[13] Lee N, Hyeon T. Designed synthesis of uniformly sized iron oxide nanoparticles for efficient magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. Chemical Society Reviews, 2012, 41(7): 2575–2589

[14] Lee J, Yang J, Ko H, Oh S, Kang J, Son J, Lee K, Lee S W, Yoon H G, Suh J S, Huh Y M, Haam S. Multifunctional magnetic gold nanocomposites: human epithelial cancer detection via magnetic resonance imaging and localized synchronous therapy. Advanced Functional Materials, 2008, 18(2): 258–264

[15] Li J, Wan C. Cellulose aerogels decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes: preparation, characterization, and application for electromagnetic interference shielding. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 2015, 2(4): 341–346

[16] Li J, Wan C, Lu Y, Sun Q. Fabrication of cellulose aerogel from wheat straw with strong absorptive capacity. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 2014, 1(1): 46–52

[17] Cai J, Kimura S, Wada M, Kuga S, Zhang L. Cellulose aerogels from aqueous alkali hydroxide-urea solution. ChemSusChem, 2008, 1(1–2): 149–154

[18] Gong W J, Tao H W, Zi G L, Yang X Y, Yan Y L, Li B, Wang J Q. Visible light photodegradation of dyes over mesoporous titania prepared by using chrome azurol S as template. Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2009, 35(6): 751–760

[19] Bose S, Kuila T, Uddin M E, Kim N H, Lau A K T, Lee J H. In-situ synthesis and characterization of electrically conductive polypyrrole/graphene nanocomposites. Polymer, 2010, 51(25): 5921–5928

[20] Yao Y, Cai Y, Lu F, Wei F, Wang X, Wang S. Magnetic recoverable MnFe₂O₄ and MnFe₂O₄-graphene hybrid as heterogeneous catalysts of peroxymonosulfate activation for efficient degradation of aqueous organic pollutants. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2014, 270: 61–70

[21] Fu Y, Xiong P, Chen H, Sun X, Wang X. High photocatalytic activity of magnetically separable manganese ferrite–graphene heteroarchitectures. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2012, 51(2): 725–731

[22] Esmaeili A, Ghobadianpour S. Vancomycin loaded superparamagnetic MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles coated with PEGylated chitosan to enhance antibacterial activity. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2016, 501(1–2): 326–330

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31270590, 31470584).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Jian Li, Yue Jiao, and Caichao Wan declare that they have no conflict of interest or financial conflicts to disclose.

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2017. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)