Bio-Inspired Biomass-Derived Carbon Aerogels with Superior Mechanical Property for Oil–Water Separation
Tao Chen, Mingxin Li, L. P. Zhou, Xiaobo Ding, Dajun Lin, Tao Duan, Guangcheng Yang, Rong He, Wenkun Zhu
Abstract
It is a challenge to fabricate three-dimensional carbon aerogels based on natural renewable resources with stability, flexibility, and versatility. Here, an ultralight, elastic, and hydrophobic multifunctional reduced graphene oxide-konjac glucomannan (RGO-KGM) carbon aerogel was fabricated by a three-step process of freeze-casting, freeze-drying, and carbonization. In the freeze-casting process, three unique structural RGO-KGM carbon aerogels were obtained by adjusting the position of the PDMS mold on the homemade directional freezer. RGO-KGM carbon aerogels possessed many excellent physicochemical properties, such as ultralow density, high specific surface area, elasticity, hydrophobicity, and controllable size. As an adsorbent, RGO-KGM carbon aerogels exhibited high adsorption capacity for various organic solvents and oils, and the maximum adsorption capacity reached up to 360 g/g. Therefore, RGO-KGM carbon aerogels with good mechanical properties and reusability shows promising prospects in the field of water treatment.