Application of cellulose and its processed products for the production of aerogels

Currently, the possibility of expanding the areas of application of cellulose is being actively investigated. Special attention is beginning to be paid to the products of cellulose destruction – powdered cellulose materials. The most common powdered cellulose materials are micro- and nanocelluloses. They have a number of unique characteristics that differ from cellulose, which leads to their use in such industries as construction, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Powdered cellulose materials are considered as a material for flexible screens and 3D modeling. Along with this, there is growing interest in highly porous cellulose-based materials, in particular the production of aerogels from cellulose, recycled materials (waste paper) and cellulose destruction products (for example, microcrystalline cellulose). Cellulose aerogels belong to bioaerogels (the third class of aerogels) and represent a new category of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. As part of this study, the possibility of obtaining aerogels from various cellulose materials was assessed. The structural and morphological characteristics and specific surface area of samples of powdered cellulose obtained by dry grinding in a planetary type ball mill with different durations were investigated. An aerogel was prepared and analyzed from samples of bleached softwood powdered cellulose. It is noted that such treatment does not allow developing the cellulose surface and obtaining an aerogel with the required characteristics. In order to improve the surface development of cellulose samples, they were subjected to sulfuric acid hydrolysis to release nanocellulose. The resulting nanocellulose samples were used to prepare aerogels. It was noted that nanocellulose-based aerogels have the necessary specific surface area and pore volume required for such materials.

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