Facile fabrication of bubbles-enhanced flexible bioaerogels for efficient and recyclable oil adsorption

Abstract Aerogels with low density, high porosity and exceptional mechanical properties have attracted great interest as adsorbents. Preparing bio-based aerogels with high porosity and outstanding mechanical performance via a facile and green strategy is in a growing demand. In this paper, an effective approach was put forward to prepare porous lightweight bio-aerogels by introducing extensive microbubbles during gelation of gelatin, which not only endows aerogels with abundant and interconnected pores to ensure the low density and high adsorption capability, but also improves the elastic resilience and fatigue resistance of the formed aerogels. In addition, after further going through silylation treatment, the hydrophobically modified porous aerogels maintain the good mechanical stability, and efficiently collect oils/organic solvents from water. Considering the low-cost, greenness of the preparation process and high performance of the prepared aerogels, this approach holds a promising potential in preparing porous bio-based aerogels with excellent mechanical properties for controlling environmental pollution caused by petroleum products and toxic organic solvents.