Highly flexible magnetic composite aerogels prepared by using cellulose nanofibril networks as templates

Nanostructured cellulose nanofibrils can form ductile or tough networks that are suitable templates for the creation of materials with functional properties. In this work, a facile method has been developed for the preparation of magnetic hybrid cellulose aerogels. The preparation processes followed by two steps, firstly, preparation of cellulose hydrogel films from LiOH/urea solvent, then CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized in the porous structured cellulose scaffolds. After being freeze-dried, CoFe2O4/cellulose magnetic aerogels were obtained. The porosity of the composite aerogels ranged from 78 to 52% with pore size distribution in a few tens of nanometers. The internal specific surface areas were around 300–320 m2/g, and the densities were in the range of 0.25–0.39 g/cm3. The hybrid aerogels showed improved mechanical strength, superparamagnetic properties. Unlike solvent-swollen gels and ferrogels, the magnetic composite aerogels were lightweight, flexibility, high porosity and with large specific surface area and could be expected to be used in many fields.