Lightweight and porous cellulose-based foams with high loadings of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 for adsorption applications

Shanshan Ma; Meiyun Zhang; Jingyi Nie; Jiaojun Tan; Shunxi Song; Yanwei Luo

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.12.081

Lightweight and porous cellulose-based foams with high loadings of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 for adsorption applications

Carbohydr Polym. 2019 Mar 15:208:328-335. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.12.081. Epub 2018 Dec 26.

Authors

Shanshan Ma¹, Meiyun Zhang², Jingyi Nie³, Jiaojun Tan¹, Shunxi Song¹, Yanwei Luo¹

Affiliations

¹ Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Papermaking Technology and Specialty Paper Development, Key Laboratory of Paper based Functional Materials of China National Light Industry, College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, China.
² Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Papermaking Technology and Specialty Paper Development, Key Laboratory of Paper based Functional Materials of China National Light Industry, College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, China. Electronic address: myzhang@sust.edu.cn.
³ Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Papermaking Technology and Specialty Paper Development, Key Laboratory of Paper based Functional Materials of China National Light Industry, College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, China. Electronic address: jingyi.nie@163.com.

PMID: 30658808
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.12.081

Abstract

The excess emission of toxic gases in atmosphere and heavy metal ions in drinking water is still a serious threat to human health. In this paper, a lightweight and porous zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8@cellulose nanofiber@cellulose foam (ZIF-8@CNF@cellulose foam) with excellent gas adsorption and heavy metal ions removal properties was prepared using a simple in situ green growth method. The nitrogen adsorption property of ZIF-8@CNF@cellulose foam was 30 times higher than pure cellulose foam. Furthermore, the adsorption testing demonstrated that the composite foam showed high adsorption capacity for fluorescent dyes (24.6 mg g^-1 for rhodamine B), heavy metal ions (35.6 mg g^-1 for Cr (VI)) and organic solvents (45.2 g g^-1 for DMF). Additionally, the ZIF-8/cellulose-based foam with 40 wt.% CNF exhibited an excellent mechanical performance, reaching a compressive strength value of 1.30 MPa. Herein, this work provides a feasible method to prepare ZIF-8@CNF@cellulose foam composite materials, which could adsorb gas molecules and heavy metal ions and show a great potential in atmosphere and water treatment.

Keywords: Adsorption capacity; Cellulose foam; Cellulose nanofiber; Compression performance; ZIF-8 nanocrystal.