Comparative Study of Graphene Oxide-Gelatin Aerogel Synthesis: Chemical Characterization, Morphologies and Functional Properties

• Published in: Journal of inorganic and organometallic polymers and materials Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 1517 - 1526
• Main Authors: Guajardo, Sebastián, Figueroa, Toribio, Borges, Jessica, Meléndrez, Manuel, Fernández, Katherina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-04-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorption; Aerogels; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Comparative studies; Covalence; G ratio; Gelatin; Graphene; Inorganic Chemistry; Morphology; Organic Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Properties (attributes); Surface charge; Surface chemistry; Aerogels; Graphene oxide; Composite; Gelatin
• ISSN: 1574-1443; 1574-1451
• DOI: 10.1007/s10904-020-01770-9

Graphene oxide (GO)–gelatin (G) aerogels were synthesized by covalent and noncovalent methods, changing on the synthesis the GO:G ratio and the pH of the GO suspension, evaluating the physical, chemical, and functional properties of these materials. Comparatively, low GO:G ratios with alkali GO suspension promoted GO–G interactions for covalent aerogels. In contrast, high GO:G ratios under acidic conditions promoted noncovalent interactions. Scanning electron microscopy showed heterogeneous structures with pore sizes of 53.26 ± 25.53 µm and 25.31 ± 10.38 µm for covalent and noncovalent aerogels, respectively. The synthesis method did not influence the surface charge; however, differences were depending on the GO content and their chemical activation, shifting from 15.63 ± 0.55 mV to − 20.53 ± 1.07 mV. Noncovalent aerogels presented higher absorption ratios in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution (35.5 ± 2.4 g
PBS
/g
aerogel
–49.6 ± 3.8 g
PBS
/g
aerogel
) than covalent aerogels. Therefore, due to these properties, noncovalent aerogels could be more useful than covalent aerogels for absorption potential applications, as biomedicine or water-treatment, where the promotion of surface interactions and high absorption capability is desired.