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Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Conversion of natural tissues and food waste into aerogels and their application in oleogelation(Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 2025-04-04); ; ; ; In this work, various natural tissues were for the first time directly converted into nanostructured aerogels by utilizing their intrinsic (meso-)porosity. In contrast to common aerogel production, no use of pure biopolymers, their extraction, dissolution, gelation or use of additives (e.g. crosslinkers, acids and bases) was necessary. The production process required washing of the wet starting material with water, a solvent exchange with ethanol and drying with supercritical CO2. The resulting materials exhibited low bulk densities (0.01–0.12 g cm−3), significant specific surface areas (108–446 m2 g−1) and mesopore volumes (0.3–2.6 cm3 g−1). Assessment of 20 different tissues including fruit pulp and peel, vegetable pulp, and mushrooms showed the generality of the approach. A broad spectrum of different microstructures was identified, whereas especially textural properties of samples derived from water rich pulp were highly similar to those found in classical biopolymer aerogels, for instance based on pectin or cellulose. Furthermore, the capability of the materials to structure liquid sunflower oil was shown: the produced oleogels exhibited exceptionally high oil uptake (max. 99%) and rheological properties similar to those of solid fats. Results suggest that supercritical drying of tissues (e.g. based on food waste) is a suitable approach for their upcycling into value added materials by a complete green and sustainable process. This research also contributes to sustainable development by transforming food waste into valuable aerogels and promoting science education through accessible, open-source STEM resources.Publicationtype: Journal Article70 30 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Transparent cellulose aerogels from concentrated salt solutions : synthesis and characterization(Wiley, 2024-08-29); ; ; In this work, nanostructured and transparent cellulose aerogels are synthesized via a purely salt induced approach from non‐modified microcrystalline cellulose type II. The production process requires in contrast to state of the art methods no pretreatment of cellulose or use of expensive cellulose‐solvents: it consists of hydrogel formation via cross‐linking of cellulose with calcium ions, a solvent exchange and a supercritical drying step. A systematic multiparameter study reveals that a high level of structural control is achievable: ratios of macro‐ to mesoporosity and the size of mesopores can be tailored by adjustment of the calcium ion content, while keeping a high overall porosity in the range of 92% – 96 %. The build‐up of homogeneous, fine pore structures results in a significant increase of the specific surface area as compared to conventional calcium‐free aerogels (684 vs. 300 m² g⁻¹). Remarkably, the Ca²⁺‐cross‐linking renders aerogels transparent, with Rayleigh scattering being the dominant scattering mechanism. Additional ion exchange to Ca²⁺ in the hydrogel‐state leads to further reduction of the pore size and to products with optimized optical properties, e.g., light transmission of 91% at an incidents light wavelength of 800 nm and a substrate thickness of 1.5 mm.Publicationtype: Journal Article108 77 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Workshop GRK 2462 "Processes in Natural and Technical Particle-Fluid-Systems" (PintPFS) : 26th & 27th of September 2022, Hamburg, Germany : conference proceedings(2022-09-26); ; ; ; In the framework of Research Training Group GRK 2462 “Processes in Natural and Technical Particle-Fluid-Systems” (PintPFS), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), researchers from the fields of civil engineering, mechanical engineering, process engineering, and materials sciences investigate natural and technical Particle-Fluid-Systems (PFS) in an interdisciplinary approach. As PFS are ubiquitous in everyday life and relevant for many processes in industry, pharmacy, and food production, they represent a fascinating field of research with potential for promising and useful discoveries in many aspects.Publicationtype: Conference Proceedings408 2183