Insights into the effects of synthesis techniques and crosslinking agents on the characteristics of cellulosic aerogels from Water Hyacinth.

Aerogel cellulose materials were synthesised from Water hyacinth and different crosslinkers, such as kymene and a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and glutaraldehyde (GA). The effects of using a magnetic stirrer and ultrasonic methods were investigated. The results show that materials prepared using ultrasonic methods have higher porosity and lower density. The thermal conductivity of the synthesised aerogel cellulose could be as low as 0.0281 W m K-1, showing the good heat insulation performance of this material. Absorption capacity was tested using diesel oil (DO), and the highest capacities of 58.82 and 52.03 g g-1 of DO were found with kymene and PVA + GA as crosslinkers, respectively. The reusability of the materials was tested. After 10 cycles, the DO absorption capacity was 62.8% of the value of the first cycle for the aerogel cellulose sample with kymene as the crosslinker and 72.7% for the sample with PVA + GA as the crosslinking agent. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.