Preparation, thermal insulation and flame retardance of cellulose nanocrystal aerogel modified by TiO2

Abstract

This paper successfully prepares TiO2-modified cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) composite aerogel through in-situ synthesis of TiO2 in CNC solution and supercritical CO2 drying. Then, the structure, morphology, thermal insulation and flame retardance of TiO2/CNC composite were investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), and cone calorie measurement. The XRD and SEM spectra show that the TiO2-modified CNC aerogels exhibited a 3D network structure and underwent a decline in crystallinity through TiO2 doping and modification. The TG-DTG curves reveal that TiO2/CNC aerogels surpassed the CNC aerogel in thermal decomposition temperature. The cone calorie measurement indicates that TiO2/CNC aerogels lagged far behind the CNC aerogel in the PHRR. To sum up, the test results demonstrate that TiO2 doping and modification is an effective way to enhance the flame retardant and thermal insulation properties of cellulose aerogel. The research findings shed new light on the development of thermal insulation and fire-retardant clothing materials.