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Synthesis Method for Cellulose Nanofiber Biotemplated Palladium Composite Aerogels
Published on: May 9, 2019
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Aerogel materials with periodic structures imprinted with cellulose nanocrystals
Yi-Tao Xu1, Yiling Dai, Thanh-Dinh Nguyen
1Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada. mmaclach@chem.ubc.ca.
Nanoscale
|February 8, 2018
Summary
Researchers developed novel aerogel materials using chiral nematic cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). These scalable aerogels exhibit periodic, anisotropic structures and high surface areas, suitable for advanced applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Biomaterials
Background:
- Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) exhibit liquid crystalline properties.
- Aerogels are highly porous materials with diverse applications.
- Creating ordered structures in aerogels remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel aerogel materials with periodic structures.
- To utilize chiral nematic liquid crystalline CNCs as templates.
- To create scalable methods for producing anisotropic aerogels.
Main Methods:
- Phase separation of CNCs to form liquid crystalline structures.
- Locking the structure via solvent exchange or silica condensation.
- Critical point drying and calcination to produce cellulose and silica aerogels.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated aerogels with periodic, chiral nematic structures derived from CNCs.
- Achieved high surface areas in the resulting cellulose and silica aerogels.
- Demonstrated a scalable approach for creating anisotropic aerogel materials.
Conclusions:
- The developed method provides a new route to ordered, anisotropic aerogels.
- These materials possess unique structural features suitable for specialized applications.
- The periodic and chiral properties make them promising as templates for other ordered materials.
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