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Ultralight carbon aerogel from nanocellulose as a highly selective oil absorption material

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Abstract

The synthesis of a sponge-like carbon aerogel from microfibril cellulose, with high porosity (99 %), ultra-low density (0.01 g/cm3), hydrophobic properties (149° static contact angle) and reusability is reported in this paper. The physical properties, internal morphology, thermal properties, and chemical properties of carbon aerogels heat-treated at 700 and 900 °C (Samples C-700 and C-900) were examined. Stabilization and carbonization parameters were optimized in terms of residual carbon yield. The BET surface area of Sample C-700 (521 m2/g) was significantly higher than of Sample C-950 (145 m2/g). Graphitic-like domains were observed in C-950. The highest normalized sorption capacity (86 g/g) for paraffin oil was observed in sample C-700. The removal of hydrophilic function groups during carbonization causes carbon aerogel to present highly hydrophobic properties. Carbon aerogel’s ability to absorb oil is enhanced by its highly porous 3D network structure with interconnected cellulose nanofibrils.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the UTIA 2013 Innovation Grant and the US Forest Service Southern Research Station under contract agreement 07-CR-11330115-087, Southeastern Sun Grant Center. CIC acknowledges support for materials characterization from the US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science and Technology Division.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, Center for Renewable Carbon, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Yujie Meng, Timothy M. Young, Biao Huang & Siqun Wang

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Peizhi Liu

  3. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    Cristian I. Contescu

  4. College of Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China

    Biao Huang

Authors
  1. Yujie Meng
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  2. Timothy M. Young
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  3. Peizhi Liu
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  4. Cristian I. Contescu
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  5. Biao Huang
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  6. Siqun Wang
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Correspondence to Siqun Wang.

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Meng, Y., Young, T.M., Liu, P. et al. Ultralight carbon aerogel from nanocellulose as a highly selective oil absorption material. Cellulose 22, 435–447 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0519-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0519-5

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