Facile Synthesis of Cellulose/ZnO Aerogel with Uniform and Tunable Nanoparticles Based on Ionic Liquid and Polyhydric Alcohol

Abstract

Cellulose/zinc oxide (ZnO) aerogels are traditionally produced using methods harmful to the environment because of the acids and alkalis that are involved in the production process. This study reported a facile approach for synthesizing cellulose aerogels with uniform and tunable ZnO nanoparticles that are based on ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Amim]­Cl) and polyhydric alcohol. The entire preparation process is environmental friendly and controllable. The hybrid aerogels are lightweight (0.0463 g/cm3) with a high surface area (267 ± 4 m2/g) and possess great compressive strength (51.53 N/cm2). Furthermore, the morphology and size of the ZnO nanoparticles are observed to be tunable; the ZnO nanoparticles can be uniformly synthesized in situ on the cellulose fibers by adjusting the concentration of Zn­(Ac)2 precursor and the hydrolytic time. The cellulose/ZnO aerogels exhibit good catalytic efficiency during the degradation of polyethylene terephthalate and can be directly taken out without separation for recycling.

Molecular‐Scale Design of Cellulose‐Based Functional Materials for Flexible Electronic Devices

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 92 ] Copyright 2018, American Chemical Society. f) Aerogel morphology and its adsorption mechanism for dyes.…”

“…Thus, due to the existence of nanochannels, the cellulose/ZnO aerogel, when used as an opening catalyst system, promoted the highly efficient catalytic degradation and recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials. [ 92 ]…”

“…In addition, cellulose-based aerogel materials with abundant pores provide favorable spaces for loading activated metal particles to construct 3D catalytic materials. As shown in the synthetic route of Figure 3c, Li et al [92] prepared a functional cellulose-based aerogel by introducing zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles into a system of ionic liquids and polyols. Combined with theoretical calculations and an analysis of the electrostatic potential energy on the surface of glucose molecules (Figure 3d), they demonstrated that ZnO was synthesized in situ along with cellulose chains.…”

“…Thus, due to the existence of nanochannels, the cellulose/ZnO aerogel, when used as an opening catalyst system, promoted the highly efficient catalytic degradation and recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials. [92] The large number of hydroxyl groups in cellulose molecules facilitates interactions with polar organic molecules, allowing them to adsorb dyes, oils, and impurity ions in aqueous environments. [93][94][95] Ren et al [96] used a homogeneous system to dissolve cellulose using an alkali/urea solvent to design a selfassembly process for cellulose molecules with graphene oxide (GO) nanomaterials.…”

Fabrication of Shape‐Memory Aerogel Based on Chitosan/Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate Semi‐Interpenetrating Networks via a Facile and Eco‐Friendly Strategy

“…Aerogels are ultralight materials with porous structure that are produced by replacing the liquid component in the gel by gas. Due to their fascinating characteristics such as low density, light weight, high specific surface areas, and high porosity, aerogels are now regarded as the most promising solid material and are widely applied as pollutants sorbents for environmental remediation applications, piezoresistive sensors, catalyst supports, fire retardants, supercapacitors, microwave absorbing materials, and so on. Based on their components, aerogels are classified as molecular aerogels, inorganic aerogels, and organic aerogels .…”