@article {47357, title = {Elastic piezoelectric aerogels from isotropic and directionally ice-templated cellulose nanocrystals: comparison of structure and energy harvesting}, journal = {Cellulose}, volume = {28}, year = {2021}, month = {JUL}, pages = {6323-6337}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

We report the preparation of highly compressible and elastic piezoelectric aerogels of carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Aqueous CNC dispersions containing polyethyleneimine and crosslinker were frozen isotropically to yield isotropic aerogels, while oriented aerogels were prepared by directional freezing. These aerogels were highly flexible and porous (similar to 85\% void fraction), exhibiting greater than 90\% recovery at 50\% compressive strain even after 100 compression-decompression cycles. Since such aerogels with low bulk modulus and high anisotropy would be an ideal platform for leveraging the piezoelectric properties of CNCs, we used them to prepare piezoelectric nanogenerator devices and determined their energy transduction behavior. Anisotropic aerogels led to an enhanced open-circuit voltage of 840 mV (at similar to 8 N applied force), which is over 2.6 times higher than isotropic aerogels (320 mV). The energy density of anisotropic aerogels was around 52 nW/cm(2), representing outstanding piezoelectric performance for cellulose-based aerogels. Such aerogels with high compressibility, elastic recovery and exceptional piezoelectric performance could have potential applications in sensors, wearable electronics, etc.

}, keywords = {Aerogel, Anisotropic, Cellulose nanocrystals, energy harvesting, Piezoelectricity}, issn = {0969-0239}, doi = {10.1007/s10570-021-03896-6, Early Access Date = MAY 2021}, author = {Ram, Farsa and Biswas, Bipul and Torris, Arun and Kumaraswamy, Guruswamy and Shanmuganathan, Kadhiravan} } @article {48144, title = {Trap inlaid cationic hybrid composite material for efficient segregation of toxic chemicals from water}, journal = {Angewandte Chemie-International Edition}, volume = {61}, year = {2022}, month = {AUG }, pages = {e202203385}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Metal-based oxoanions are potentially toxic pollutants that can cause serious water pollution. Therefore, the segregation of such species has recently received significant research attention. Even though several adsorbents have been employed for effective management of chemicals, their limited microporous nature along with non-monolithic applicability has thwarted their large-scale real-time application. Herein, we developed a unique anion exchangeable hybrid composite aerogel material (IPcomp-6), integrating a stable cationic metal-organic polyhedron with a hierarchically porous metal-organic gel. The composite scavenger demonstrated a highly selective and very fast segregation efficiency for various hazardous oxoanions such as, HAsO42-, SeO42-, ReO4-, CrO42-, MnO4-, in water, in the presence of 100-fold excess of other coexisting anions. The material was able to selectively eliminate trace HAsO42- even at low concentration to well below the As-v limit in drinking water defined by WHO.

}, keywords = {Aerogel, Chemical Separation, Hybrid composite, Metal-Organic Gel, Metal-Organic Polyhedra}, issn = {1433-7851}, doi = {10.1002/anie.202203385}, author = {Fajal, Sahel and Mandal, Writakshi and Mollick, Samraj and More, Yogeshwer D. and Torris, Arun and Saurabh, Satyam and Shirolkar, Mandar M. and Ghosh, Sujit K.} } @article {49428, title = {Nano-springe enriched hierarchical porous MOP/COF hybrid aerogel: efficient recovery of gold from electronic waste}, journal = {Angewandte Chemie-International Edition}, volume = {64}, year = {2025}, month = {FEB}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Extraction of gold from secondary resources such as electronic waste (e-waste) has become crucial in recent times to compensate for the gradual scarcity of the noble metal in natural mines. However, designing and synthesizing a suitable material for highly efficient gold recovery is still a great challenge. Herein, we have strategically designed rapid fabrication of an ionic crystalline hybrid aerogel by covalent threading of an amino-functionalized metal-organic polyhedra with an imine-linked chemically stable covalent organic framework at ambient condition. The hierarchically porous ultra-light aerogel featuring imine-rich backbone, high surface area, and cationic sites have shown fast removal, high uptake capacity (2349 mg/g), and excellent selectivity towards gold sequestration. Besides, the aerogel can extract ultra-trace gold-ions from different terrestrial water bodies, aiming towards safe drinking water. This study demonstrates the great potential of the composite materials based on a novel approach to designing a hybrid porous material for efficient gold recovery from complex water matrices.

}, keywords = {Aerogel, COF, E-waste, Gold, MOP}, issn = {1433-7851}, doi = {10.1002/anie.202419830}, author = {Majumder, Dipanjan and Fajal, Sahel and Shirolkar, Mandar M. and Torris, Arun and Banyla, Yashasvi and Biswas, Kishalay and Rasaily, Sagarmani and Ghosh, Sujit K.} }