Hierarchically Porous Cellulose Monolith Prepared by Combination of Ice-template Method and Non-solvent-induced Phase Separation Method

Hierarchically cellulose monoliths were successfully prepared by non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) without any template. Phase separation was induced by adding ethyl acetate into a cellulose/LiCl-DMAc system. The obtained cellulose monolith with a surface area of 30 m2 g−1 owned both mesoporous and macroporous structures. The pore size of the cellulose monolith could be easily tuned by changing the cellulose concentration. Moreover, the cellulose monoliths showed excellent mechanical properties.