Silica Aerogels with Self-Reinforced Microstructure for Bioinspired Hydrogels

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Aerogels are high-performance, lightweight porous solids with applications in biotechnology, energy, and aerospace.
• A major challenge in aerogel fabrication is preventing framework shrinkage during solvent removal in ambient conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop superhydrophilic silica aerogels with minimal volume shrinkage using ambient pressure drying.
• To achieve properties comparable to aerogels produced via supercritical CO2 drying without additives.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a linear polymeric precursor and condensation reaction.
• Employed ambient pressure drying with a low surface tension solvent.
• Synthesized bioinspired hydrogels using resulting aerogel microparticles.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated superhydrophilic silica aerogels with a self-reinforced microstructure and minimal shrinkage.
• Achieved high specific surface area (1065 m²/g), pore volume (2.17 cm³/g), and low density (84 mg/cm³).
• Demonstrated the synthesis of flexible, adhesive bioinspired hydrogels for extreme environments (-50 °C).

Conclusions:

• Ambient pressure drying can yield high-performance silica aerogels comparable to supercritical drying methods.
• The developed aerogels show significant potential for creating functional hydrogels with bionic properties.
• This work advances the fabrication of high-performance hydrophilic aerogels with self-enhanced microstructures.