Ionic liquid assisted cellulose aerogels for cleaning an oil spill

One of the major emerging disasters for aquatic life as well as humans, is an oil spill. Aerogels are a suitable alternative for the cleaning of the oil spill cause of their outstanding characteristics. In this study, a facile method was presented for the production of aerogels from cellulose/lignocellulose using ionic liquids. This method is sustainable as it employs greener materials. Aerogels were prepared using sol–gel reaction with ionic liquids following gelation, and freeze-drying for 24 h. In the initial work, 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Acetate [Emim][Ac] and 1-Butyl-3-Methylimidazolium Chloride [Bmim][Cl] were used. The resultant aerogels possess an interconnected porous structure depending upon the type of ionic liquid employed. The TGA and FESEM results suggest that aerogels using [Bmim][Cl] possess better thermal stability and porous structure as compare to [Emim][Ac]. The removal efficiency of [Bmim][Cl] was 84% which was 12% higher than [Emim][Ac] based aerogels.