Corn stalk pith-based hydrophobic aerogel for efficient oil sorption

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Bio-based aerogels are promising for oil spill remediation due to their properties.
• Current "bottom-up" aerogel fabrication is costly, slow, and energy-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a cost-effective, green, and efficient top-down method for producing bio-based aerogels from corn stalk pith.
• To enhance the oil and organic pollutant sorption capabilities of aerogels.

Main Methods:

• Corn stalk pith (CSP) underwent deep eutectic solvent (DES) treatment.
• Chemical oxidation using TEMPO/NaClO/NaClO2 and microfibrillation followed.
• Hexamethyldisilazane coating was applied to the treated CSP.

Main Results:

• A top-down, green, and efficient fabrication process was established.
• The resulting aerogels exhibited low density (29.3 mg/g) and high porosity (98.13%).
• High oil/organic solvent sorption capacities (25.4–36.5 g/g) and good reusability were achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed top-down method offers a sustainable and efficient alternative for bio-based aerogel production.
• These aerogels demonstrate superior performance in oil spill cleanup compared to raw CSP.
• The process selectively modifies CSP to create an aligned porous structure ideal for sorption.