Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (11): 2141-2152.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201705223

• REVIEW • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Fabrication and Performance of Various Aerogel Microspheres

Xu-Chun WANG1,2,Jin-Ze LI2,Guang-Yong LI2,Jin WANG2,Xue-Tong ZHANG2,*(),Qiang GUO1,*()   

  1. 1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, P. R. China
    2 Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China
  • Received:2017-04-12 Published:2017-08-25
  • Contact: Xue-Tong ZHANG,Qiang GUO E-mail:xtzhang2013@sinano.ac.cn;13701947737@163.com
  • Supported by:
    The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51572285);The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21373024);The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21404117);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFA0203301)

Abstract:

Aerogels have been developed rapidly in recent years due to their excellent physicochemical properties and broad range of applications. However, most efforts have been devoted to traditional aerogel 3D monoliths, and particular requirements regarding the shape and size of the aerogels for some special uses have been neglected. Shaping aerogel into microspheres, that is, the fabrication of aerogel microspheres, may facilitate potential applications and extension of the range of applications of porous microspheres. Herein, we will present the fabrication and performance of various aerogel microspheres such as silica aerogel microspheres, cellulose aerogel microspheres, RF/carbon aerogel microspheres, and graphene aerogel microspheres. The current challenges and future developments of the aerogel microspheres are also discussed briefly in this review.

Key words: Aerogel, Microsphere, Silica, Cellulose, Graphene