Ice reinforced with aerogels from nano/microfibrillated cellulose

The fragility of ice limits its use as construction material, the road and crossings base in winter period in hard-to-reach northern regions. To strengthen it, various dispersed additives are introduced. However, the approaches proposed to date are labor-intensive, dispersions settle and can be poorly wetted. Here we suggest to strength ice using nano/microfibrillar cellulose aerogels. Their advantages over currently used materials include low specific gravity (0.1–0.001 g cm–3), large volume (up to 99 vol. %) of interconnected pores, hydrophilicity and biodegradability. The ice nanocomposites were formed in one step by simple impregnation of aerogels with water and subsequent freezing. The volume of the ice matrix included a homogeneous three-dimensional network of intertwined nano/microfibrils. The enhancement of the mechanical strength of ice by aerogels was due to a change in the mechanism of failure from brittle to plastic. Unlike ice, the composites did not undergo a breakdown into pieces after reaching yield stress. The three-dimensional network of nano/microfibrils of cellulose prevented the formation and development of macrocracks, which are associated with the rapid breaking of ice. Destruction occurred through a gradually increasing number of microcracks.