The 3rd International Symposium on Nanocellulosic Materials (3rd ISNCM)

5 / 2021-05-11 14:58:52

Preparation and Hydrophobic Properties of Leymus Chinensis Cellulose Aerogel

Leymus chinensis,Adsorption property,Cellulose aerogels,Freeze-drying,Hydrophobic modification

      The feasibility of preparing hydrophobic cellulose aerogel from a novel natural forage grass, Leymus chinensis, was studied in this research. With the addition of 0.06% the cross-linking agent, N, N-methylenebisacrylamide and using water as the cleaning solvent, the cellulose aerogel was successfully prepared after freeze-drying and exhibited excellent properties, including the density up to 0.157 g/cm³ and the water absorption rate up to 29.24 g/g.

      After chemical vapor deposition of methyltrichlorosilane, the hydrophobicity of cellulose aerogel was assessed with the measurement of static contact angle and oil absorption ability. The results showed the static contact angle of cellulose aerogel could reach 122 ° and still keep at 110 ° after one-week sitting of water drops on the surface of the sample aerogel. The thermal decomposition temperature of Leymus chinensis cellulose aerogel was around 250 ℃. The oil absorption test showed that Leymus cellulose aerogel had very high adsorption capacities for 5 types of oils: petroleum ether, cyclohexane, chloroform, pump oil, and silicone oil, respectively at 28.42 g/g, 26.95 g/g, 23.46 g/g, 48.55 g/g, 55.63 g/g and kept about 64.13 % of the initial adsorption rate even after ten repeated adsorptions. The study indicated the novel hydrophobic Leymus Chinensis Cellulose Aerogel would hold potential for oil-spill cleanup or oil contaminant removal.