Cellulosic gels, films and composites including the gels, and methods of forming same
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Colorado
InventorsIvan I. Smalyukh, Andrew Johnston Hess, Quingkun Liu, Joshua A De La Cruz, Blaise Fleury, Eldho Abraham, Bohdan Senyuk, Vladyslav Cherpak
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Abstract
Disclosed are cellulose-based flexible aerogels and xerogels containing bacterial cellulose nanorods, ribbons, fibers, and the like, wherein the gels have tunable optical, heat transfer, and stiffness properties. Further disclosed are highly transparent and flexible cellulose nanofiber-polysiloxane composite aerogels featuring enhanced mechanical robustness, tunable optical anisotropy, and low thermal conductivity.
Claims7
A transparent and flexible cellulose nanofiber-polysiloxane composite aerogel comprising:
- cellulose nanofibers having a diameter between about 4 and about 10 nm,
- wherein the transparent and flexible cellulose nanofiber-polysiloxane composite aerogel is formed using a polysiloxane precursor and a surface modifying agent comprising a compound comprising an amine functional group,
- wherein the cellulose nanofibers are crosslinked via a polysiloxane network comprising a siloxane bond derived from the polysiloxane precursor, and
- wherein the flexible cellulose nanofiber-polysiloxane composite aerogel is rollable and foldable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.