Abstract
Oxide aerogels are pore–solid networks notable for their low density, large pore volume, and high surface area. This three-dimensional arrangement of pore and solid provides critical properties: the high surface area required to maximize the number of active sites and a through-connected porosity that plumbs reactants to the active interior. In decontamination applications where reactivity beyond adsorption is desired to degrade deleterious molecules, oxide aerogels offer multiple avenues to add oxidative power to this unique arrangement of pore and solid. For protection against chemical warfare agents or toxic industrial chemicals, metal-oxide aerogels with their oxide/hydroxide surfaces afford stability under ambient conditions against competing sorbents such as water and oxygen. In this review, strategies to maximize sorptive capacity and degradation rate by modifying surface functionality, compositing with dissimilar oxides, or adding metallic nanoparticles and the subsequent impact on decontamination performance will be summarized and expected directions for future research will be discussed based on the observed trends.
Highlights
THE CHALLENGE OF MATERIALS DESIGN FOR MITIGATION OF HAZARDOUS MOLECULESAll technology has unintended consequences, occasionally beneficial, too often detrimental (Tenner, 1997)
Recent research demonstrates the tremendous potential of various metal-oxide aerogels for protection against chemical warfare (CW) agents and toxic industrial chemicals (TICs)
While early work largely focused on the performance of unmodified metal-oxide aerogels, later design strategies reveal a wide variety of viable routes towards improving performance
Summary
All technology has unintended consequences, occasionally beneficial, too often detrimental (Tenner, 1997). Due to their low density, aerogels are commonly utilized as thermal insulators, and their combination of high-surface area and mesoporosity makes them appealing for use as adsorptive materials, heterogeneous catalysts, and for electrochemical charge storage (Pierre and Pajonk, 2002) Because of their desirable structural properties, aerogels of a wide range of chemical compositions (carbon, chalcogens, cellulose, etc.) have been developed as high-performance sorbents in various environmental remediation and filtration applications, including removal of heavy metal ions, degradation of organic dyes, oil-spill cleanup, adsorption of hydrocarbons, and CO2 capture (Ahmed et al, 2014; Gan et al, 2019; Hasanpour and Hatami, 2020; Maleki, 2016; Wang et al, 2017b).
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