Fabrication of porous cellulose microspheres with controllable structures by microfluidic and flash freezing method

In this article, porous cellulose acetate microspheres (PCAMs) with tunable particle sizes and pore characters were successfully synthesized by combining microfluidic and flash freezing method. Microfluidic parameters were adjusted to achieve the desired size of microdroplets. And various solvent had a significant effect on the pore characters of microspheres. The PCAMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area. The resulting microspheres had large specific surface area and excellent adsorption ability. Since these efficient microspheres were synthesized from biomass, this study provided an elaborate approach for the large-scale preparation of green environmental adsorbents with well-controlled structures that could be used for wastewater treatment. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.