(1. State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 210009, China) ( 2. Jiangsu Collaborative innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing 210009, China) (3. Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing General Hospital, Nanjing, 210002, China)
With the rapid development of modern industry, the dual threats of the depletion of nonrenewable energy and environmental pollution caused by petroleum-based polymers motivate utilization of naturally occurring polymers to create new “green” materials. Cellulose, as the most abundant natural polymer on earth, has attracted attention due to its renewability, wide availability, low-cost, biocompatibility and biodegradability, etc. Meanwhile, Cellulose aerogel, as the new generation succeeding the inorganic and hybrid polymer-based aerogel, has attracted extensive interest from both academia and industry attribute to the combination of the advantages of highly porous materials and the the characteristics of natural- polymer materials. It possesses a high surface area, high porosity and extremely low density as same as previous aerogel, but also shows some unique properties such as renewability, easy degradability and biocompatibility, good mechanical properties and ductility, which give it potential value in the field of heat insulation, adsorption, catalysis, electricity and magnetism, biomaterial and pharmaceutical, etc. This review aims to describe new research progress of cellulose aerogel on the performance and functionality, and summarize the recent development of cellulose-based aerogel in various regions based on dissolving cellulose, preparation and modification.