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Ultralight and robustly compressible silica aerogel enhanced by AC/C sponge with high oil/water separation

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Abstract

In recent years, oil spills and industrial organic pollutants have caused irreparable damage to the environment and biological ecosystems. Therefore, the treatment of oily wastewater has become a serious global challenge. Here, the ultra-light, robustly strength and superhydrophobic AC/C/SiO2 aerogel are fabricated by simple two-step method. Due to the introduction of high-strength carbon foam, the originally brittle aerogel exhibits excellent mechanical properties (compressive strength up to 1.6 MPa) and ultra-low density (19 mg cm−3). Remarkably, the AC/C/SiO2 sample maintains a integrate block structure without any damage or crack under large compression strain (up to 80%). In addition, the aerogel with large water contact angle of 153° and show excellent absorption for oil (39.13 g g−1). Therefore, these excellent characteristics make the as-prepared aerogel promising absorbents for water depollution: oil-spill clean-ups or removal of oils and organic solvents from water.

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Acknowledgements

This research work was supported by Equipment Advanced Research Field Foundation of China (No. 61409220204, No. 61409220210 and 51905268), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0304302), Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (KYCX20_0197), and Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Laboratory for Insulation and Energy Efficiency Materials, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 211106, People’s Republic of China

    Mengmeng Yang, Zhaofeng Chen, Tianlong Liu, Qiong Wu & Lixia Yang

  2. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 211106, People’s Republic of China

    Mengmeng Yang, Tianlong Liu & Qiong Wu

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  1. Mengmeng Yang
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  2. Zhaofeng Chen
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  3. Tianlong Liu
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  5. Lixia Yang
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Correspondence to Zhaofeng Chen.

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Yang, M., Chen, Z., Liu, T. et al. Ultralight and robustly compressible silica aerogel enhanced by AC/C sponge with high oil/water separation. J Porous Mater 29, 523–530 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-021-01172-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-021-01172-3

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