Cellulose-Starch Composite Aerogels as Thermal Superinsulating Materials

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Growing environmental concerns drive demand for sustainable packaging.
• Plastic waste poses significant environmental challenges.
• Need for eco-friendly alternatives to conventional packaging materials like Styrofoam.

Purpose of the Study:

• Synthesize biodegradable, porous, lightweight, high-surface-area microcrystalline cellulose-starch (MCC-S) hybrid aerogels.
• Investigate the properties of MCC-S aerogels at different weight ratios.
• Evaluate MCC-S aerogels as sustainable packaging insulators.

Main Methods:

• Aerogels synthesized using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) drying.
• Five different MCC-S weight ratios were prepared.
• Characterization included morphology, crystallinity, structural, and thermal properties analysis.

Main Results:

• Hybrid MCC-S aerogels exhibited superior properties compared to individual components.
• The 1:2 MCC-S aerogel achieved 97% porosity and 0.058 g/cm3 density.
• This aerogel also showed low thermal conductivity (0.012 W/(m·K)) and high surface area (258 m2/g).

Conclusions:

• MCC-S hybrid aerogels are promising sustainable materials.
• They offer excellent insulation properties for advanced packaging.
• These aerogels present a viable eco-friendly alternative to Styrofoam.