Aerogels are materials that are characterized by having highly porous structures and low density. They are obtained by fixation of wet gels while maintaining
the openness of the structure in the dry process. Among a variety of inorganic and organic precursors of aerogels, celluloses have gained great popularity during the last few decades due to their environmentally and biologically-friendly features safety. Celluloses are long-chain polymers that occur naturally on a massive scale and are typically obtained from plant fibers such as woods, basts, flaxes and hemps.
Cellulose-based aerogels involve the two important components that are aggressively
pursued in a broad spectrum of today’s most prominent research issues sustainability and nanotechnology.
First, because they are made from a renewable
resource, they are considered to be sustainable, a property
that is becoming more and more important. Second,
the pore size of these aerogels is partly in the nanometerregion;
therefore, they can also be called a nanomaterial