Compressible cellulose nanofibril (CNF) based aerogels produced via a bio-inspired strategy for heavy metal ion and dye removal

A sustainable nanomaterial, cellulose nanofibril (CNF) was used to prepare aerogel sorbents to remove various contaminants in wastewater. A mussel-inspired coating strategy was used to introduce polydopamine onto the surface of CNFs, which were cross-linked with polyethylenimine (PEI) to form the aerogels. The synthetic procedure was optimized to achieve a minimal consumption of raw materials to produce a robust porous structure. The aerogels...