Aerogels with both high compressibility and fast shape recovery would have board technological applications covering thermal regulation, adsorbents, and electrical devices. However, creating such materials from cellulosic materials requires complicated preparation process. Here, we report a simple strategy for scalable production of continuous hemp microfibers using a top-down method, which can further be assembled into aerogels with interconnected porous structure via ice-templating technique. With density as low as 2.1 mg/cm3, these aerogels demonstrated isotropical superelasticity, as exhibited by their fast shape restoration from over 80% compressive strain. Due to the high porosity (99.8%), the aerogel showed a low thermal conductivity of 21.5 mW/mK, suggesting its potential in thermal insulation purpose. Certain hydrophobic modification using silane derivative further endowed the aerogels with tunable water affinity. Overall, the proposed strategy to prepare bio-based microfibers using scalable technology, as well as its assembled aerogels, provides new insights into the design and development of multifunctional bio-based materials for value-added applications.

Superelastic, ultralight, and multifunctional aerogels assembled by hemp microfibers

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