Synthesis of Sustainable Organic Aerogel with a Product of Wood Waste - Cellulose

In this work, a light weight and high strength sustainable organic composites will be synthesized with a product of wood waste – cellulose. Cellulose is the most abundant biological polymer on the planet. It is found in the cell walls of plant and bacterial cells. The primary source for the cellulose is wood. Cellulose nano-crystals (CNCs) have been produced from wood wastes such as wood chips and sawdust. CNCs have superior mechanical properties. They are stronger and stiffer then Kevlar and Carbon fibers. It could be unitized to synthesize nano-structured low density, high strength, multi-functional bio-inspired biodegradable and biocompatible organic composites-Cellulose Aerogel. Those composites could be used for thermal and/or acoustic insolation, microfluidic devices, antenna, tissue engineering, drug delivery agents, filter, structural materials and impact resistant materials. In detail, first a cellulose hydrogel is formed. Then the gel is dried under supercritical conditions to form a highly porous renewable and biodegradable cellulose aerogel. After cellulose aerogels are synthesized, mechanical material tests are conducted and material behavior of the aerogel is characterized. In the study, the effect of cellulose content will be addressed