Multifunctional flexible carbon aerogels based on sustainable bacterial cellulose

Abstract

We demonstrate that a combination of bacterial cellulose (BC) and resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) imparts flexibility to its hybrid (BC + RF) and carbon aerogels (CAs). The microstructures of the produced aerogels exhibit continuous fibers from BC over which aggregates of RF particles are formed. The flexible CAs are able to recover from repeated compressive deformation with maximum compressive strain of 80%. These flexible CAs based on sustainable BC are achieved by a simple infiltration processing route and are suitable for applications in various fields such as gas adsorption, oil absorption, catalysis, energy storage, sensors, etc.