(551e) Applications of Aerogel Materials in Energy

Aerogel materials, possessing structural advantages of large specific surface areas, high porosities, and three-dimensionally well-connected through-pore structure, are considered a superior material form for applications taking advantages of highly porous structure and involving liquid reactants and surface-based interactions/reactions. I present here aerogels of several materials, including silica, titania, carbon, and graphene, and their successful applications in high temperature thermal insulators (energy saving),^[1] dye-sensitized solar cells (energy conversion),^[2-3] supercapacitors (energy storage),^[4-8] and hydrogen generation (energy source).^[9]

References:

[1] Wei, T.-Y.; Lu, S.-Y.;* Chang, Y.-C., J. Phys. Chem.-C, 2009, 113, 7424.

[2] Cheng, W.-Y.; Deka, J. R.; Chiang, Y.-C.; Rogeau, A.; Lu, S.-Y.,* Chem. Mater., 2012, 24, 3255.

[3] Wang C.-C.; Lu, S.-Y.,* Nanoscale, 2015, 9, 1209.

[4] Wang,Y.-H.; Wang, C.-C.; Cheng, W.-Y.; Lu, S.-Y.,* Carbon, 2014, 69, 287.

[5] Wei, T.-Y.; Chen, C.-H.; Chien, H.-C.; Lu, S.-Y.;* Hu, C. C.,* Adv. Mater., 2010, 22, 347.

[6] Lin, Y.-H.; Wei, T.-Y.; Chien, H.-C.; Lu, S.-Y.,* Adv. Energy Mater., 2011, 1, 901.

[7] Chien, H.-C.; Cheng, W.-Y.; Wang, Y.-H.; Lu, S.-Y.,* Adv. Func. Mater., 2012, 22, 5038.

[8] Wang, C.-C.; Chen, H.-C.; Lu, S.-Y.,* Chem. Europ. J., 2014, 20, 517.

[9] Lin, C.-C.; Wei, T.-Y.; Lee, K.-T.; Lu, S.-Y.,* J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 12668.