The rapid development of modern industry and excessive consumption of petroleum-based polymers have triggered a double crisis presenting a shortage of nonrenewable resources and environmental pollution However, this has provided an opportunity to stimulate researchers to harness native biobased materials for novel advanced materials and applications Nanocellulose-based aerogels, using abundant and sustainable cellulose as raw material, present a third-generation of aerogels that combine traditional aerogels with high porosity and large specific surface area, as well as the excellent properties of cellulose itself Currently, nanocellulose aerogels provide a highly attention-catching platform for a wide range of functional applications in various fields, eg, adsorption, separation, energy storage, thermal insulation, electromagnetic interference shielding, and biomedical applications Here, the preparation methods, modification strategies, composite fabrications, and further applications of nanocellulose aerogels are summarized, with additional discussions regarding the prospects and potential challenges in future development

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adma.202005569

Recent Progress on Nanocellulose Aerogels: Preparation, Modification, Composite Fabrication, Applications

Cellulose based composite foams and aerogels for advanced energy storage devices

Porous aerogel and sponge composites: Assisted by novel nanomaterials for electromagnetic interference shielding

Naturally derived nanocellulose (NC) is a renewable, biodegradable nanomaterial with high strength, low density, high surface area, and tunable surface chemistry, which allows its interaction with other polymers and nanomaterials in a controlled manner. In recent years, NC aerogel has gathered a lot of attention due to environmental concerns. This review presents recent developments of NC-based aerogels and their controlled interactions with other polymers and nanomaterials for thermal applications that include electronic devices, the apparel industry, superinsulating materials, and flame-retardant smart building materials. After going through the distinctive properties of NC aerogels, they are orderly categorized and discussed as thermally insulated, thermally conductive, and flame-retardant materials.

Recent Developments in Nanocellulose-Based Aerogels in Thermal Applications: A Review.

Aerogels in drug delivery: From design to application.

With the depletion of fossil fuel and increasing environmental concerns, the modernized era of technology is urgently in need for sustainable and eco-friendly materials. The industrial sector certainly possesses enough resources for the production of available cost-effective, renewable, reusable, and sustainable raw materials. Ultralight, eco-friendly and renewable cellulosic aerogels are one of the most accentuated materials in the polymer research field due to their highly abundant and inexpensive raw material, biocompatibility, high specific surface area and other feasible properties. This review summarizes the recent progress in cellulosic aerogels, their main processing route, including a detailed description of versatile new solvents along with some essential properties of cellulosic aerogels and illustrate how their variety of chemical functionalities can be adjusted for applications in the fields of thermal insulation, fire retardant, antibacterial, CO2 capture and energy storage systems. A detailed morphological analysis has been elaborated and effect of processing route, solvent medium and drying procedure on the morphology of cellulosic aerogels is also decribed. Finally, we propose some suggestions to the functionalization such as silanized cellulosic aerogels and their applications in antibacterial activity yet they are still in progress and need further study for future research.

Preparation, Properties, and Applications of Natural Cellulosic Aerogels: A Review

/pdf/improved-impedance-matching-by-multi-componential-metal-1176z1n5t9.pdf

Improved impedance matching by multi-componential metal-hybridized rGO toward high performance of microwave absorption

/pdf/progress-in-construction-of-bio-inspired-physico-58a7ofgl1t.pdf

Progress in construction of bio-inspired physico-antimicrobial surfaces

A cast-in-place process is usually adopted to prepare bicontinuous composites which display good mechanical properties and excellent comprehensive performance. But the construction of an intercommunicating porous skeleton seems to be cumbersome and low efficient. Here we report a three-dimensional nanofibers foam (3D NFF), which has been fabricated and applied to enhance epoxy resin composite. The 3D NFF skeletons with densities from 0.028 to 0.218 g/cm3 were fabricated by regulating the conditions for the nanofiber growth. The 3D NFFs were conveniently modified with a silane coupling agent to improve the interface interaction with the epoxy matrix. Compared to the pure epoxy, the compressive strength of the cast-in-place processed 3D NFFs/epoxy composite was improved by 436.8% at loading of 3.9 wt%, and the flexural strength was increased by 133.5% at loading of 5.3 wt%. While the compressive and flexural strength of the NFPs/epoxy composite prepared through traditional mixing method was increased by 173.6% at loading of 3.9 wt%, and 63.1% at loading of 5.3 wt%, respectively.

A cast-in-place fabrication of high performance epoxy composites cured in an in-situ synthesized 3D foam of nanofibers

The determination of molecular weight of natural cellulose remains a challenge nowadays, due to the difficulty in dissolving cellulose. In this work, tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) aqueous solution (THDS) were used to dissolve cellulose in a few minutes under room temperature into true molecular solutions. That is to say, the cellulose was dissolved in the solution in molecular level, and the viscosity of the solution is linearly dependent on the concentration of cellulose. The relationship between the molecular weight of cellulose and the intrinsic viscosity tested in such dilute solutions has been established in the form of the Mark-Houwink equation, η=0.24×DP1.21. The value of 1.21 indicates that the cellulose molecules dissolve in THDS quite well. The cellulose dispersion in the THDS was proved to be in molecular level by atomic force microscope (AFM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The reliability of the established Mark-Houwink equation was cross-checked by the gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and traditional copper (II) ethylenediamine (CED) method. No considerate degradation was observed by comparing the intrinsic viscosity and the degree of polymerization (DP) values of the original with and the regenerated cellulose samples. The natural cellulose can be molecularly dispersed in the multiple-component solvent (THDS), and kept stable for a certain period. A time efficient and reliable method has been supplied for determination of the degree of polymerization and the molecular weight of cellulose.

Elucidation of the Relationship between Intrinsic Viscosity and Molecular Weight of Cellulose Dissolved in Tetra-N-Butyl Ammonium Hydroxide/Dimethyl Sulfoxide.

Ahsan Zaman

Papers

Preparation, Properties, and Applications of Natural Cellulosic Aerogels: A Review

Improved impedance matching by multi-componential metal-hybridized rGO toward high performance of microwave absorption

Progress in construction of bio-inspired physico-antimicrobial surfaces

A cast-in-place fabrication of high performance epoxy composites cured in an in-situ synthesized 3D foam of nanofibers

Elucidation of the Relationship between Intrinsic Viscosity and Molecular Weight of Cellulose Dissolved in Tetra-N-Butyl Ammonium Hydroxide/Dimethyl Sulfoxide.