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.