Super light 3D hierarchical nanocellulose aerogel foam with superior oil adsorption

In this work, the concentration effect of both nanocellulose and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) on the fabrication of a super light 3D hierarchical framework adsorbent nanocellulose aerogel foam (NAF) is exploited through a high speed mechanical foaming and solvent-free method by adding SDS. The results show that the optimal concentration of nanocellulose and SDS for preparation of this 3D NAF/SDS is 0.4 and 0.2 wt%, accordingly. By utilizing unique gridding framework of NAF/SDS, a low density of 1.50 mg cm−3 and high adsorption capacity of 206.79, 194.75 and 145.20 g g−1 towards cyclohexane, ethyl acetate, and vacuum pump oil, accordingly, are achieved in the as-prepared NAF/SDS, which is much higher than that of conventional nanocellulose aerogel (NA) (52.07, 81.12 and 34.52 g g−1, respectively). The results illustrate that this NAF/SDS is a promising candidate for preparing 3D hierarchical network structure from natural polymer cellulose in an environmental control for oil adsorption.