Synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanofibril hybrid aerogel microspheres and their use as oil/solvent superabsorbents

Tianliang Zhai; Qifeng Zheng; Zhiyong Cai; Hesheng Xia; Shaoqin Gong

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.065

Synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanofibril hybrid aerogel microspheres and their use as oil/solvent superabsorbents

Carbohydr Polym. 2016 Sep 5:148:300-8. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.065. Epub 2016 Apr 19.

Authors

Tianliang Zhai¹, Qifeng Zheng², Zhiyong Cai³, Hesheng Xia⁴, Shaoqin Gong⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715, United States.
² Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715, United States; Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715, United States.
³ Forest Product Laboratory, USDA, Madison, WI 53726, United States.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China. Electronic address: xiahs@scu.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715, United States; Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715, United States; Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53715, United States. Electronic address: sgong@engr.wisc.edu.

PMID: 27185143
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.065

Abstract

Superhydrophobic and crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/cellulose nanofibril (CNF) aerogel microspheres were prepared via a combination of the water-in-oil (W/O) emulsification process with the freeze-drying process, followed by thermal chemical vapor deposition of methyltrichlorosilane. The oil phase and the cooling agent were judiciously selected to ensure that the frozen ice microspheres can be easily separated from the emulsion system. The silanized microspheres were highly porous with a bulk density ranging from 4.66 to 16.54mg/cm(3). The effects of the solution pH, stirring rate, and emulsifier concentration on the morphology and microstructure of the aerogel microspheres were studied. The highly porous structure of the ultralight aerogel microspheres demonstrated an ultrahigh crude oil absorption capacity (up to 116 times its own weight). This study provides a novel approach for the large-scale preparation of polymeric aerogel microspheres with well-controlled particle sizes that can be used for various applications including oil and chemical spill/leak clean-up.

Keywords: Aerogel microspheres; Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs); Emulsification process; Freeze-drying; Superabsorption.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cellulose / chemistry*
Environmental Restoration and Remediation / methods*
Gels / chemical synthesis*
Microspheres*
Particle Size
Polyvinyl Alcohol / chemistry*
Solvents / chemistry

Substances

Gels
Solvents
Polyvinyl Alcohol
Cellulose