TY - JOUR
T1 - Bioinspired Synthesis of Monolithic and Layered Aerogels
AU - Han, Xiao
AU - Hassan, Khalil T.
AU - Harvey, Alan
AU - Kulijer, Dejan
AU - Oila, Adrian
AU - Hunt, Michael R.C.
AU - Šiller, Lidija
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
PY - 2018/6/6
Y1 - 2018/6/6
N2 - Aerogels are the least dense and most porous materials known to man, with potential applications from lightweight superinsulators to smart energy materials. To date their use has been seriously hampered by their synthesis methods, which are laborious and expensive. Taking inspiration from the life cycle of the damselfly, a novel ambient pressure-drying approach is demonstrated in which instead of employing low-surface-tension organic solvents to prevent pore collapse during drying, sodium bicarbonate solution is used to generate pore-supporting carbon dioxide in situ, significantly reducing energy, time, and cost in aerogel production. The generic applicability of this readily scalable new approach is demonstrated through the production of granules, monoliths, and layered solids with a number of precursor materials.
AB - Aerogels are the least dense and most porous materials known to man, with potential applications from lightweight superinsulators to smart energy materials. To date their use has been seriously hampered by their synthesis methods, which are laborious and expensive. Taking inspiration from the life cycle of the damselfly, a novel ambient pressure-drying approach is demonstrated in which instead of employing low-surface-tension organic solvents to prevent pore collapse during drying, sodium bicarbonate solution is used to generate pore-supporting carbon dioxide in situ, significantly reducing energy, time, and cost in aerogel production. The generic applicability of this readily scalable new approach is demonstrated through the production of granules, monoliths, and layered solids with a number of precursor materials.
KW - aerogels
KW - bioinspired materials
KW - functional materials
KW - insulating materials
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047840657&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adma.201706294
DO - 10.1002/adma.201706294
M3 - Article
C2 - 29691911
AN - SCOPUS:85047840657
SN - 0935-9648
VL - 30
SP - e1706294
JO - Advanced Materials
JF - Advanced Materials
IS - 23
M1 - 1706294
ER -