Ultralightweight and Flexible Silylated Nanocellulose Sponges for the Selective Removal of Oil from Water

In this work, we report the facile synthesis of hydrophobic, flexible, and ultralightweight (ρsponge ≤ 17.3 mg/cm3) nanocellulose sponges using a novel and efficient silylation process in water. These functional materials with high porosity (≥99%) are easily engineered by freeze-drying water suspensions of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), a natural nanomaterial isolated from renewable resources, in the presence of methyltrimethoxysilane sols of various concentrations. Microscopic and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance analyses reveal that the sponges are composed of a three-dimensional cellulosic network of thin sheets and nanofilaments, covered by polysiloxanes. Compared with conventional inorganic porous…