Flame retardant cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate composite aerogels crosslinked by metal ions for flame resistance materials.

The cellulose (Cel)-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-sodium alginate (SA) composite aerogels are prepared by adding PVA and SA to the Cel suspension, followed by freeze-drying. The structure and properties of Cel-PVA-SA composite aerogels are determined by FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, limiting oxygen index method and cone calorimetry. The results reveal that sodium alginate is uniformly distributed within the aerogels. The as-synthesized composite aerogels possess excellent compressive resilience properties. In addition, the addition of sodium alginate significantly reduces the flammability of cellulose. Therefore, this study provides a simple method to prepare green flame-retardant Cel-PVA composite aerogels materials, and the aerogels demonstrate excellent potential for application in construction materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]