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Recent progress and applications of aerogels in China

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology volume 106, pages 290–318 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Aerogels are nanoporous materials which were initially prepared by Kistler in 1931. During the past 80 years, the investigation of aerogels accelerated rapidly in the 1980s and 2000s due to potential applications in many important fields and industrialization demands. In recent years, aerogels are attracting more and more people because of the unprecedented global pressure of the problems of energy and environment. As the materials with the lowest thermal conductivity, aerogels are ideal materials for thermal insulations which can save energy and help to reduce carbon emissions. As materials with high porosity and specific surface area, aerogels are ideal materials to adsorb toxic molecules or ions in the air and water, which can be applied in environmental protection. Carbon aerogels, with a good electric conductivity, are also good electrode materials for supercapacitors. In this paper, recent progress in aerogel preparation and applications in China are reviewed.

Highlights

  • This paper is the first to introduce Chinese aerogel industry, which is helpful for countries around the world to better understand Chinese aerogel and strengthen in-depth cooperation.

  • This article not only introduces the academic research progress of aerogels in China, but also shows the practical industrial applications of Chinese aerogels.

  • This review points out the problems and challenges in the large-scale production and application of aerogel-based materials, and clarifies the direction for the international aerogel industry to become bigger and stronger.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFA0204600) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51072137).

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    Jun Shen & Xiaoxue Zhang

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Shen, J., Zhang, X. Recent progress and applications of aerogels in China. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 106, 290–318 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-021-05639-2

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