Recent Advances in Aerogel-Based Composites
A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Analysis and Characterization".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2024) | Viewed by 11573
Special Issue Editor
Interests: novel two-dimensional materials; point-of-care detection; energy conversion; electrochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Aerogels, which feature ultra-low density, high porosity, and large specific surface area, are advanced structures currently receiving a great deal of interest. Aerogels were first created by S. S. Kistler in 1931 and further developed in the 1970s based on silica and similar materials. Since then, aerogels (carbon aerogels, metallic aerogels, cellulose aerogels, etc.) and their synthesis processes have been widely reported. At present, aerogels are attracting intensive research attention in the areas of thermal insulation, electrochemical energy storage and conversion, electromagnetic interference shielding, catalysis and sensing applications.
Although many efforts have been devoted to the achievement of aerogels-based materials with desired and tunable properties, there are still many opportunities and challenges to be addressed. Their morphology, pore structure, composition, defects and crystallinity have a great influence on their physicochemical properties and quality; hence, the procedures for aerogel production and precise structural control are of great importance. Especially, it is challenging to maintain the microstructure of gels during the drying process. Currently, with improved and efficient methods to obtain aerogels, satisfactory performance in their application has been achieved at lab-scale. However, aerogels can only become available on the market when their preparation is low-cost and large-scale. There are many technical barriers which need to be overcome in order to realize the transformation from lab to industrial scale.
In this Special Issue, we aim to share up-to-date strategies in aerogel fabrication, structure control and large-scale production. We welcome papers discussing not only single-compound aerogels but also the design and functionality of hybrid aerogels. We believe that the development of aerogels with appropriate or tunable properties will present promising opportunities in various fields.
Dr. Xiao Li
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- functional aerogels
- hybrid aerogels
- 3D porous structure
- physicochemical properties
- large-scale production
- applications
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