Multifunctional hybrid structures made of open-cell aluminum foam impregnated with cellulose/graphene nanocomposites

Susana C Pinto; Nuno H C S Silva; Ricardo J B Pinto; Carmen S R Freire; Isabel Duarte; Romeu Vicente; Matej Vesenjak; Paula A A P Marques

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116197

Multifunctional hybrid structures made of open-cell aluminum foam impregnated with cellulose/graphene nanocomposites

Carbohydr Polym. 2020 Jun 15:238:116197. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116197. Epub 2020 Mar 20.

Authors

Susana C Pinto¹, Nuno H C S Silva², Ricardo J B Pinto², Carmen S R Freire², Isabel Duarte¹, Romeu Vicente³, Matej Vesenjak⁴, Paula A A P Marques⁵

Affiliations

¹ TEMA, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
² CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
³ RISCO, Civil Engineering Department, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
⁴ Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova ul. 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
⁵ TEMA, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. Electronic address: paulam@ua.pt.

PMID: 32299546
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116197

Abstract

This work focuses on exploring combinations of disintegrated bacterial cellulose nanofibres (BC) with graphene oxide (GO) (reduced and non-reduced) and phase change materials (PCMs) prepared in the form of foam-like structures. The presence of GO remarkable improves the fire-retardancy and provides dimensional stability to the foams while PCMs gives thermal energy storage capacity. The foams were exposed to methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) vapour to become hydrophobic which was confirmed by measuring water absorption capacity and water contact angle. To extend the multifunctionality of these nanocomposite foams, a selected composition was impregnated into an open-cell aluminium foam creating a hybrid structure (Al-BC/GO) with higher mechanical properties (increase in stress of 100 times) and high sound absorption coefficient (near 1 between 1000-4000 Hz). The low thermal conductivity confirms that this hybrid structure is a thermal insulator. These advantages highlight the potential applications of the proposed materials e.g. construction, automotive and aeronautical sectors.

Keywords: Bacterial cellulose; Graphene oxide; Multifunctional hybrid structures; Open-cell aluminium foam; Phase change materials.