Recyclable, robust, and antimicrobial bamboo cellulose nanofiber aerogel decorated with ZnO@PDA core-shell nanoparticles for efficient oil-water separation

With excellent adsorption capacity, cellulose nanofiber aerogels are commonly employed for oil-water separation. Nevertheless, the insufficient environmental durability and poor mechanical properties of cellulose-based aerogels remain critical challenges for oil-water separation applications. Inspired by polydopamine (PDA) adhesion, a simple strategy was proposed to prepare aerogels with excellent environmental adaptive properties and stable mechanical properties using bamboo cellulose nanofibers (BCNF), sodium alginate (SA), core-shell nanoparticles, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via PDA self-adhesion and physical cross-linking. BCNF and SA were physically crosslinked to form a three-dimensional cross-linked network structure to enhance the strength of the aerogel backbone (compressive strength of 103.16 kPa). Zinc oxide@PDA (ZnO@PDA) core-shell nanoparticles were prepared to improve the environmental adaptability of the aerogel and modulate its surface roughness using the self-polymerization of PDA. PDMS was deposited on the aerogel by vacuum impregnation, forming a strongly hydrophobic layer on the aerogel skeleton. The aerogel exhibited excellent oil absorption capacity (26.98–71.03 g/g). In addition, it also showed remarkable antimicrobial properties (99.83 % and 99.78 % bactericidal rate for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli , respectively), which makes it more suitable for various complex environments. With these excellent properties, the prepared aerogels act as an ideal green adsorbent for practical wastewater treatment. • Recyclable, robust, antimicrobial CNF-based composite aerogels were proposed. • ZnO@PDA and PDMS enhanced the hydrophobicity and environmental resistance of aerogel. • Prepared aerogel had excellent antibacterial properties and satisfactory reusability. • The aerogel possessed efficient oil-water separation performance.