Aerogel fibers have attracted increasing interests due to their high outside specific surface area and high flexibility for applications in energy management systems. However, aerogel fibers usually suffer from weak mechanical properties and complicated fabrication process, thus severely restricting their broad application. In this paper, the never-dried bacterial cellulose(BC) with high molecular weight was firstly dissolved in NaOH/urea/thiourea aqueous solution at-15 ℃. Followed by wet spinning, solvent exchange and freeze-drying,the BC aerogel fiber with high mechanical properties was simply obtained. The dissolution process was observed by polarized optical microscope(POM), 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and viscoelastic measurements.The variations of structure and properties on original BC and regenerated BC aerogel fibers were characterized by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry(ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA). The structure and properties of BC aerogel fiber were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), specific surface area and pore size distribution analyzer(BET)and fiber strength tester. The results show that the never-dried BC can be dissolved in NaOH/urea/thiourea solution at low temperature. The maximum concentration of BC in the solution reaches up to 3 wt%. The resulted BC solution behaves as pseudoplastic fluid and stays stabe at room temperature. To fabricate BC aerogel fibers,wet-spinning technology and freeze-drying were utilized using BC solution as spinning dope. After regeneration,the crystal structure of BC transforms from I to II without derivatization. Meanwhile, highly porous structure in axial alignment with a high specific area of 192 m~2/g was demonstrated in the BC aerogel fibers. Due to the high molecular weight of BC, strong intramolecular and intermolecular interactions, and molecular chain orientation,the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of BC aerogel fibers could reach up to(9.36±1.68) MPa and(176±17.55) MPa, which are higher than those of state-of-the-art aerogel fibers. The lightweight BC aerogel fiber can withstand a load of more than 5×10~4 times its own weight. Such BC aerogel fibers show high potentials in flexible biological scaffolds, drug carriers, bio-adsorbents and advanced thermal insulation textiles.

Jun-yan Zhang

Si Meng

Wen-ping Chen

Yan-hua Cheng

Mei-fang Zhu

Polymer Materials

Acta Polymerica Sinica

本报是1957年创办的中文学术期刊，曾用名《高分子通讯》，月刊，中国科学院化学研究所主办，中国科学院主管。主要刊载高分子化学、高分子合成、高分子物理、高分子物理化学、高分子应用和高分子材料科学等领域中，基础研究和应用基础研究的论文、研究简报、快报和重要专论文章。读者对象主要为国内高分子学科的研究人员、工程技术人员、高等院校的教师和学生。

Acta Polymerica Sinica is a Chinese academic journal founded in 1957, formerly known as "Polymer Communications". It is sponsored by the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The journal primarily publishes papers, research briefs, rapid communications, and significant reviews in the fields of polymer chemistry, polymer synthesis, polymer physics, polymer physical chemistry, polymer applications, and polymer materials science, focusing on both fundamental research and applied fundamental research. Its target audience includes researchers, engineering technicians, and educators and students in the field of polymer science in China.

《Acta Polymerica Sinica》是一本创办于1957年的中文学术期刊，曾用名《高分子通讯》，由中国科学院化学研究所主办，中国科学院主管。期刊主要刊载高分子化学、高分子合成、高分子物理、高分子物理化学、高分子应用和高分子材料科学等领域的基础研究和应用基础研究论文、研究简报、快报及重要专论。其读者对象主要为国内高分子学科的研究人员、工程技术人员以及高等院校的教师和学生。

Category	Quartile
化学	4
化学, 高分子科学	4

Continuous Bacterial Cellulose Aerogel Fibers with High Strength

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
POLYMER SCIENCE	4