Porous materials, methods of manufacture thereof and articles comprising the same
Disclosed herein is a porous material comprising a biopolymer functionalized with a carbon dioxide capturing moiety; where the biopolymer is in the form of a foam or an aerogel having a bulk density of 500 grams per cubic meter to 2500 grams per cubic meter. Disclosed herein too is a method comprising functionalizing a biopolymer with a carbon dioxide capturing moiety; dissolving the biopolymer in an aqueous solution to form a first solution; reducing the temperature of the first solution to below the freezing point of the aqueous solution; displacing the aqueous solution with a first solvent that has a lower surface tension than a surface tension of the aqueous solution; and drying the first solvent to produce a porous biopolymer having a bulk density of 500 grams per cubic meter to 2500 grams per cubic meter.
1. A method comprising:
functionalizing a biopolymer with a carbon dioxide capturing moiety;
dissolving the biopolymer in an aqueous solution to form a first solution;
reducing the temperature of the first solution to below the freezing point of the aqueous solution;
displacing the aqueous solution with a first solvent that has a lower surface tension than a surface tension of the aqueous solution;
drying the first solvent to produce a porous biopolymer having a bulk density of 500 grams per cubic meter to 2500 grams per cubic meter.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displacing the first solvent with a second solvent that has a lower surface tension than a surface tension of the first solvent.
3. The method of claim 1 , where the drying is conducted at a temperature of 15 to 150° C.
4. The method of claim 1 , where the temperature is reduced to a temperature of 0 to −196° C.