Aerogels can be used in a wide range of applications, for example in lightweight construction materials, thermal insulation, water and air purification, and biomedical applications. Aerogels made from cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have many high-performing characteristics such as low density, good mechanical performance, and the amenability to surface modification for tuning material functionality. However, the preparation of CNF-based aerogels, analogously with conventional silica-based aerogels, commonly involves tedious and energy-demanding drying processes. Furthermore, to facilitate use in water, crosslinking protocols are needed to obtain wet-stable structures. Although several methods to chemically crosslink CNF structures have been reported, these processes generally require mixing of the CNFs with a crosslinking reagent, often with a post activation of the reaction that facilitates the crosslinks. In this work, we propose a multicomponent supramolecular mixture in which CNF and sodium alginate form strong complexes with multivalent cations for structure stabilization, that is, no covalent crosslinking chemistry is needed. The fabrication approach is based on ice-templating of the multicomponent gel-network in a conventional freezer, generating structures strong enough to withstand subsequent solvent exchange and drying under ambient conditions. The resulting aerogels have densities ranging from 3.4–20 kg/m<sup>3 </sup>and exhibit exceptional mechanical properties under both dry and wet conditions. The prepared aerogels also have a unique shape recovery from a fully compressed state under wet conditions and excellent water-holding capacity, which makes them highly suitable as absorption materials.

Air-dried, ultralight nanocellulose-based aerogels with tunable functionalities

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.