Preparation and characterization of cellulose grafted with epoxidized soybean oil aerogels for oil absorbing materials.

The absorbent materials synthesized from bio-sources with low cost and high selectivity for oils and organic solvents have attracted increasing attention in the field of oil spillage and discharge of organic chemicals. We developed a convenient surface-grafting method to prepare efficient and recyclable bio-based aerogels from epoxidized soybean oil (ESO)-modified cellulose at room temperature. The porous network-like structure of the cellulose aerogel was still fully retained after undergoing hydrophobic modification with ESO. Moreover, the modified aerogels possessed excellent hydrophobicity with a water-contact angle of 132.6°. Moreover, the absorbent ability of the hydrophobic cellulose aerogels was systematically assessed. The results showed that modified aerogels could retain more than 90% absorption capacity even after 30 absorption-desorption cycles, indicating that the ESO-grafted cellulose aerogels have practical applications in the oil-water separation from industrial wastewater and oil-leakage removal.