Facile Synthesis of Well-Dispersed Superparamagnetic γ-Fe₂O₃ Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Three-Dimensional Architectures of Cellulose Aerogels and Their Applications for Cr(VI) Removal from Contaminated Water

Abstract

With the increasing emphasis on green chemistry, cellulose aerogels which consist of abundant three-dimensional (3D) architectures, have been considered as a class of idea green matrix materials to encapsulate various nanoparticles for synthesis of miscellaneous functional materials. Herein, a facile template synthesis combined with chemical co-precipitation was implemented to prepare hybrid γ-Fe 2 O 3 @cellulose aerogels (γ-Fe 2 O 3 @CA). The γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles are well dispersed and immobilized in the micro/nano-scale pore structure of the aerogels, and exhibit superparamagnetic behavior. The particle sizes, pore characteristic parameters, magnetic property, and mechanical strength of the synthetic γ-Fe 2 O 3 @CA could be flexibly tailored by adjusting the concentrations of the initial reactants. In addition, γ-Fe 2 O 3 @CA exhibits rapid adsorption rate and excellent adsorption ability to remove Cr(VI) heavy metal ions.Moreover, combining with the advantages of environmental benefits, facile convenient preparation method, high specific surface area and strong mechanical strength, and strong magnetic responsiveness, this class of green γ-Fe 2 O 3 @CA is more favorable and suitable for Cr(VI) removal from contaminated water, and also useful in many other applications.

Magnetic Wood as an Effective Induction Heating Material: Magnetocaloric Effect and Thermal Insulation

“…Two obvious weight losses in the temperature range of 220–340 and 340–450 °C are caused by the pyrolysis of wood components and sodium oleate, respectively. More importantly, the additional decomposition step started at the temperature around 650 °C corresponding to the reduction reaction between the Fe 3 O 4 and the char obtained from the pyrolysis of wood . The reaction occurring between Fe 3 O 4 and the residual char leads to the oxidation of char to carbon dioxide and results in the decrease of residues.…”

Cellulose‐based formaldehyde adsorbents with large capacities: Efficient use of polyethylenimine for graphene oxide stabilization in alkaline–urea system

“…Among the variety of cellulose products, cellulose aerogels have distinct advantages, including high porosity, large specific surface area, and low density, which make themselves to become suitable green substrates to support well‐dispersed nanoscale materials . Hence, integration of GO into these cellulose‐based porous matrices could offer many possibilities …”

Cellulose aerogels decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes: preparation, characterization, and application for electromagnetic interference shielding

“…Therefore, cellulose aerogels are extensively regarded as appropriate templates for the creation of composites with functional properties [3] . Our previous reports have justified the cellulose aerogels that could serve as suitable environmentally benign templates to support well-dispersed nanoscale g-Fe 2 O 3 [4] , cobalt ferrite [5] , anatase titania [6] and rod-like ZnO [7] . Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an alluring class of materials from both theoretical and applied viewpoints, which have attracted tremendous attention since the discovery by Iijima in 1991, due to their outstanding electrical, mechanical, and physicochemical properties [8,9] .…”