| dc.description.abstract | In this study, composite aerogel Fe3O4 reinforced by cellulose nanofibers and
cross-linked using polyvinyl alcohol has been successfully synthesized using the
freeze-drying method. In this study, composite aerogels were synthesized with
variations of Fe3O4 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1% respectively. The characterization
of composite aerogels in this study includes physical tests, which are density and
porosity, swelling, congo red adsorption using the UV-Vis spectrophotometer, the
functional group tests with Fourier Transform Infra-Red and the surface morphology
testing as well as elemental content using a Scanning Electron Microscope Energy
Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX). The results obtained in this study are that the
composite aerogel has a low density, which is in the range of 0.1-0.2 g/cm3 with a
porosity of 82-90%. The result of the water absorption test showed that the greater
addition of Fe3O4, the percentage of water absorption decreased, with variations of
Fe3O4 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1% having a water absorption capacity of 805.29%,
597.14%, 488.93%, 354.27%, 203.79% respectively. The addition of Fe3O4 to the
composite aerogel caused a shift in the absorption peak observed in the Infra-Red
spectrum, this indicates that the cross-linking process by polyvinyl alcohol has been
successful and the formation of bonds between polymer networks with Fe3O4. The
composite aerogel produced in this study has a porous morphology, where the addition
of Fe3O4 has a smaller pore structure and tends to form agglomeration caused by the
presence of Fe3O4, whereas without the addition of Fe3O4 it has a larger pore
structure. The presence of Fe3O4 was also demonstrated through SEM-EDX by the
presence of Fe and O elements in the composite aerogel. | en_US |
