Hydrophobic nanocellulose aerogels with high loading of metal-organic framework particles as floating and reusable oil absorbents

Abstract

In this paper, we employed a facile approach to prepare flexible and porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) containing cellulose nanofiber (CNF) aerogels (MNCAs) through freeze-drying MOF-containing cellulose nanofiber suspensions. After coating with methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) by chemical vapor deposition, recycled and hydrophobic MTMS-coated MNCAs (MMNCAs) were obtained. Due to the low density (0.009 g/cm³), high porosity (97%) and good mechanical properties of the aerogel, the adsorption capacity of MMNCAs reached up to 210 g/g, which was nearly 3–5 times that of pure CNF aerogels. These prepared aerogels showed excellent oil/water selectivity and high capacity to adsorb oil and organic solvents. This kind of cellulose-based aerogel may be applicable in the field of environmental protection.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

cellulose nanofibers / aerogels / metal-organic framework / oil-adsorption

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education (Grant No. SWZ-ZD201906) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31770607). The authors thank the Advanced Analysis & Testing Center of Nanjing Forestry University for its help.

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