Surface Area Volume Research Articles

Fe3C@C composite fiber mats prepared by electrospinning with heat treatment and their application to Li-S batteries

The main challenges facing Li-S batteries stem from the low conductivity of sulfur and the dissolution of lithium polysulfides. This study addresses these issues by synthesizing Fe3C@C nanofibers through electrospinning followed by heat treatments, which are then applied as an interlayer in Li-S cells. The pre-oxidation temperature is adjusted to achieve the desired material properties, in which Fe3C nanoparticles are embedded in graphitic carbon nanofibers, resulting in a high specific surface area and mesopore volume. This configuration provides excellent polysulfide adsorption and catalytic properties for their further conversion. Consequently, when used as an interlayer, the electrochemical performance of the cell, including discharge capacity (first: 1174 vs. 850 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C), stability (852 vs. 400 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles), and rate-capability (620 vs. 100 mAh g−1 at 2 C), is significantly enhanced compared to cells without interlayer.

Thermal and/or Microwave Treatment: Insight into the Preparation of Titania-Based Materials for CO2 Photoreduction to Green Chemicals.

Titanium dioxide was synthesized via hydrolysis of titanium (IV) isopropoxide using a sol-gel method, under neutral or basic conditions, and heated in the microwave-assisted solvothermal reactor and/or high-temperature furnace. The phase composition of the prepared samples was determined using the X-ray diffraction method. The specific surface area and pore volumes were determined through low-temperature nitrogen adsorption/desorption studies. The photoactivity of the samples was tested through photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. The composition of the gas phase was analyzed using gas chromatography, and hydrogen, carbon oxide, and methane were identified. The influence of pH and heat treatment on the physicochemical properties of titania-based materials during photoreduction of carbon dioxide have been studied. It was found that the photocatalysts prepared in neutral environment were shown to result in a higher content of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane in the gas phase compared to photocatalysts obtained under basic conditions. The highest amounts of hydrogen were detected in the processes using photocatalysts heated in the microwave reactor, and double-heated photocatalysts.

Cortical structure and subcortical volumes in conduct disorder: a coordinated analysis of 15 international cohorts from the ENIGMA-Antisocial Behavior Working Group

Conduct disorder is associated with the highest burden of any mental disorder in childhood, yet its neurobiology remains unclear. Inconsistent findings limit our understanding of the role of brain structure alterations in conduct disorder. This study aims to identify the most robust and replicable brain structural correlates of conduct disorder. The ENIGMA-Antisocial Behavior Working Group performed a coordinated analysis of structural MRI data from 15 international cohorts. Eligibility criteria were a mean sample age of 18 years or less, with data available on sex, age, and diagnosis of conduct disorder, and at least ten participants with conduct disorder and ten typically developing participants. 3D T1-weighted MRI brain scans of all participants were pre-processed using ENIGMA-standardised protocols. We assessed group differences in cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volumes using general linear models, adjusting for age, sex, and total intracranial volume. Group-by-sex and group-by-age interactions, and DSM-subtype comparisons (childhood-onset vs adolescent-onset, and low vs high levels of callous-unemotional traits) were investigated. People with lived experience of conduct disorder were not involved in this study. We collated individual participant data from 1185 young people with conduct disorder (339 [28·6%] female and 846 [71·4%] male) and 1253 typically developing young people (446 [35·6%] female and 807 [64·4%] male), with a mean age of 13·5 years (SD 3·0; range 7-21). Information on race and ethnicity was not available. Relative to typically developing young people, the conduct disorder group had lower surface area in 26 cortical regions and lower total surface area (Cohen's d 0·09-0·26). Cortical thickness differed in the caudal anterior cingulate cortex (d 0·16) and the banks of the superior temporal sulcus (d -0·13). The conduct disorder group also had smaller amygdala (d 0·13), nucleus accumbens (d 0·11), thalamus (d 0·14), and hippocampus (d 0·12) volumes. Most differences remained significant after adjusting for ADHD comorbidity or intelligence quotient. No group-by-sex or group-by-age interactions were detected. Few differences were found between DSM-defined conduct disorder subtypes. However, individuals with high callous-unemotional traits showed more widespread differences compared with controls than those with low callous-unemotional traits. Our findings provide robust evidence of subtle yet widespread brain structural alterations in conduct disorder across subtypes and sexes, mostly in surface area. These findings provide further evidence that brain alterations might contribute to conduct disorder. Greater consideration of this under-recognised disorder is needed in research and clinical practice. Academy of Medical Sciences and Economic and Social Research Council.

A liter scale synthesis of hierarchically mesoporous UiO-66 for removal of large antibiotics from wastewater.

The presence of antibiotics in water sources is a significant concern due to their potential environmental impact and the risks to human health. In the present research, hierarchically mesoporous UiO-66 (HP-UiO-66) with a high surface area (1011 m2/g) and large pore volume was synthesized using the reflux method on the liter scale. The successful synthesis was confirmed by FT-IR, XRD, FESEM/EDS, N2-adsorption/desorption, and zeta potential techniques. The HP-UiO-66 was utilized to remove two large structure antibiotics, chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC), and oxytetracycline (OTC). Box Behnken design was used to investigate the factors affecting the removal process and the interactions between them. The maximum adsorption capacities for OTC and CTC antibiotics were 252.9mg/g and 234.2mg/g at 35°C, respectively. The sum of the normalized error method was applied to the analysis of various error functions in the nonlinear fitting of equilibrium and kinetic data. The CTC and OTC adsorption kinetic followed a fractal-like pseudo-second-order model. The Langmuir isotherm fitted well to adsorption data. The results demonstrate that HP-UiO-66 can be used as a recyclable and efficient adsorbent for large molecule antibiotics removal.

Co-regulating the pore structure and surface chemistry of sludge-based biochar for high–performance deodorization of gaseous dimethyl disulfide

A straightforward and eco-friendly preparation method for porous sludge biochar (SBA-3) was developed to deodorize gaseous dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) using ion exchange to adjust micropore structures coupled with carboxyl functionalization. Compared with the unmodified sludge biochar SBA-1 and SBA-2 treated with ion exchange, the pore size of SBA-3 decreased accompanied with increasing specific surface area and micropore volume. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area and micropore volume were 176.35 m2 g−1 and 0.0314 cm³ g−1, which were 2.02 and 1.71-fold larger than those of SBA-2, as well as 20.60 and 78.5-fold larger than those of SBA-1, respectively. Meanwhile, the amount of –COOH on the surface of SBA-3 increased from 0.425 to 1.123 mmol g−1, which was 2.64-fold larger than that of SBA-1. The adsorption behavior between DMDS and SBA-3 could be well described by the quasi-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 35.12 mg g−1 at 303 K. Thermodynamic and DFT calculations indicated that the adsorption of DMDS on SBA-3 was exothermic with the deodorization mechanisms involving pore filling and chemisorption.

Assessment of Haditha Dam Surface Area and Catchment Volume and Its Capacity to Mitigate Flood Risks for Sustainable Development

Assessment of Haditha Dam Surface Area and Catchment Volume and Its Capacity to Mitigate Flood Risks for Sustainable Development

Efficient Preparation and Optimization of Activated Carbon Monoliths from Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Resins for CO2 Capture

Activated carbon monoliths with developed porosity, high surface area and excellent adsorption properties were successfully prepared from resorcinol-formaldehyde resins using a physical activation method. The primary objective of this study was to examine the impact of key parameters, namely hexamethylenetetramine content (0.08–0.2 g), pyrolysis heating rate (5–20 °C/min) and activation time (1–7 h), on the final characteristics of the activated carbon in order to identify the optimal operating conditions to achieve the desired properties. All the cured resin samples were pyrolyzed at 900 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere, while the activation process took place in the presence of CO2. The evaluation of the activated carbon materials was based on the CO2 adsorption capacity and BET surface area, micropore area and total pore volume, which were employed as the criteria for selecting the optimal activated carbon. The synthesized porous carbon monoliths exhibited good properties: high BET surface area (900 m2/g), high CO2 adsorption capacity (5.33 mmol/g at 0 °C and 1 bar, 3.8 mmol/g at 25 °C and 1 bar) and good CO2 selectivity for CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 mixtures. These results were obtained with a pyrolysis heating rate of 5 °C/min and a 3 h activation period.

CHARACTERISATION OF EGG WHITE-IMPREGNATED ACTIVATED CARBON FOR CO2 ADSORPTION APPLICATION

In this study egg white was used as a source of natural amino acids to modify the surface properties of palm shell activated carbon towards enhancing its CO2 capture performance. A simple impregnation method was employed for this purpose. Characterisation analysis was performed on the egg white-impregnated activated carbon to examine any changes on its surface properties prior to CO2 adsorption test. The modified adsorbent showed high thermal stability below 300°C and comprised of new amide functional group. Furthermore, the modified adsorbent exhibited 31% higher breakthrough time and maintained its CO2 adsorption capacity at 0.3 mmol/g in comparison to raw activated carbon, regardless of the reduction of surface area and micropore volume by 17% and 18% respectively. These findings provide evidence on the prospect of egg white-impregnated activated carbon for CO2 adsorption application which could pave the way for a new generation of affordable and eco-friendly adsorbents.

The Potential Significance of Microwave-Assisted Catalytic Pyrolysis for Valuable Bio-Products Driven from Albizia Tree

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of Na2CO3 and ZSM-5 as catalysts in the microwave pyrolysis of Albizia branches. An evaluation was conducted to determine the influence of power applied, experimental time, particle size, and catalysis type and ratio on the quality and quantity of pyrolysis products. Established methods such as GC-MS, FTIR, HHV, SEM, EDX, and BET were used to characterize the properties of bio-oil and biochar produced. The results demonstrated that using both catalyst types led to a substantial enhancement in biogas production. The improvement ranged from 5% to 41% with Na2CO3 and reached 45% with ZSM-5. At a lower power level of 300 W, the bio-oil yield augmented from 28% to 40% and 53% when using ZSM-5 and Na2CO3, respectively. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the utilizing of catalysts enhanced the levels of aromatic compounds, esters, and alcohols in bio-oil, along with an increase in the higher heating value (HHV) from 19.5 MJ/kg to 22 MJ/kg and 24.2 MJ/kg using Na2CO3 and ZSM-5, respectively. Moreover, the biochar's surface area and pore volume experienced a considerable rise, going from 0.5512 m2/g and 0.00011 cm3/g to a higher value of 115.2073 m2/g and 0.0774 cm3/g when treated with Na2CO3. The data indicated that both catalyst types enhanced the generation of CH4, and CO2 was lower with ZSM-5. The utilization of catalysts improves the quality of the biofuel produced and promotes the efficiency of the process in terms of energy consumption and processing time.

The influence of membrane fiber arrangement on gas exchange in blood oxygenators: A combined numerical and experimental analysis

Oxygenators take over lung function in the event of severe lung injuries by exchanging gas into the blood stream using hollow fiber membrane mats. A central limitation of oxygenators is their large foreign surface area and priming volume, which cause blood damage.Thus, gas exchange efficiency needs to be improved through an understanding of the interaction between fiber arrangement and blood flow directions. This has only been investigated in two dimensional or simplified non-realistic fiber bundles. The aim of this study was to quantify gas exchange in realistic 3D fiber bundles.We performed three dimensional micro scale CFD simulations of different realistic fiber arrangements and flow directions that we validated in corresponding test oxygenators using porcine blood.Fiber-configurations influence gas transfer by factor 2, with highest transfer rates for blood flowing in circumferential direction, and lowest for longitudinal direction in wound oxygenators. The CFD model correlates with the experiments with an R2 = 0.88.For the first time, the configuration of realistic 3D fiber bundles was proven to strongly influence gas transfer in oxygenators, in simulations and experiments. The CFD model serves for investigation of further configurations and to derive transfer coefficients for full scale oxygenators.

A sulfur-infiltrated mesoporous silica/CNT composite-based functional interlayer for enhanced Li–S battery performance

The design and construction of functional interlayers for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries has attracted much attention and was demonstrated to be effective to alleviate the notorious “shuttle effect.” An often neglected issue is that the introduction of interlayer will reduce the overall energy density of the battery. In this work, we report a sulfur-infiltrated mesoporous silica/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite as an interlayer for Li–S batteries. The mesoporous silica with large surface area (842 m2 g−1) and pore volume (0.85 cm3 g−1) can not only ensure abundant exposed sites for polysulfide capture but also accommodate a large amount of sulfur inside the pore structure. CNT was composited with silica to enhance the electronic conductivity of the interlayer, which is beneficial for fast sulfur redox reaction kinetics and improved utilization of sulfur. Compared to the pristine and CNT-modified separator, the mesoporous silica/CNT composite-modified separator enables better cycling stability and rate performance. More importantly, it was demonstrated that separately incorporating sulfur into a cathode and interlayer enables better battery performance than locating all the sulfur in the cathode. At a total sulfur loading of 4 mg cm−2 (3 mg cm−2 sulfur on the cathode and 1 mg cm−2 on the mesoporous silica/CNT interlayer), a high initial discharge capacity of 1410 mAh g−1 and a retained capacity of 952 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles were exhibited. This work provides important guidance for future design of functional interlayers for practical Li–S batteries.

Mesoporous Silica with an Alveolar Construction Obtained by Eco-Friendly Treatment of Rice Husks.

The high silicon content in rice plant waste, specifically rice husks, makes this waste by-product attractive for the extraction and valorization of silicon oxide, which is widely used as an inert support in catalysis, drug delivery and molecular sieving. The procedures currently used for the treatment of plant biomass make extensive use of mineral acids (HCl, H2SO4, HNO3), which, besides them being potential environmental pollutants, reduce the yield and worsen the chemical-physical properties of the product. In this study, an evaluation of the easy treatment of rice husks by benchmarking different, more eco-friendly carboxylic acids in order to obtain a mesoporous SiO2 with an alveolar structure and a relatively high surface area and pore volume (300-420 m2/g, 0.37-0.46 cm3/g) is presented. The obtained mesoporous silicas are characterized by worm-like pores with a narrow size distribution and a maximum in the range of 3.4-3.5 nm. The mesoporous structure of the obtained materials was also confirmed by TEM. The complete removal of the organic part of the rice husks in the final materials was evidenced by thermogravimetric analysis. The high purity of the obtained mesoporous silica was detected using ICP analysis (98.8 wt. %). The structure peculiarities of the obtained mesoporous silicas were also characterized by solid-state NMR and ATR-FTIR spectroscopies. The morphology of the mesoporous silica was investigated by SEM.

Potassium salts activated lignin-based biochar as an effective adsorbent for malachite green adsorption

Herein, a series of lignin-based porous carbons (LC) were prepared from sulfonated lignin through a simple and environmentally-friendly one-pot activated carbonization together with various potassium compounds as activators, and used for malachite green (MG) adsorption. The results showed that the prepared biochar, especially after K2CO3 activation, exhibited a honeycomb profile with large surface area (2107.6 m2/g) and high total pore volume (1.1591 cm3/g), having excellent efficiency for MG adsorption, and the biggest adsorption capacity was 2970.0 mg/g. The kinetic study together with thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption of MG by LC-K2CO3 conformed to pseudo-second-order model and the adsorption process was spontaneous, feasible, and endothermic. Moreover, LC-K2CO3 also displayed good stability and selectivity, and can selective separate the cationic dye from binary-dye system. Furthermore, the adsorption mechanism proposed in this work manifested that the high-efficient MG adsorption by LC-K2CO3 was a result of multiple actions including hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, π-π interaction and n-π interaction as well as physical absorption. The work not only provide a fundamental theory for dye removal from wastewater, but offered a new insight for lignin valorization.

Mesoporous carbon with extremely low micropore content synthesized from graphene oxide modified with alkali metal nitrates

High-temperature thermal exfoliation is a simple, rapid, and cost-efficient method for transforming graphene oxide (GO) materials into reduced graphene oxide (rGO) materials. In this study, GO materials were dispersed with alkali metal nitrates (MNO3), leading to the preparation of porous rGO materials characterized by high specific surface area (SSA) and pore volume via high-temperature thermal exfoliation. Experimental data indicate that the metal cations of MNO3 tend to react directly with the oxygen functional groups (OFG) of GO, modulating the OFG content. Simultaneously, nitrate anions have preferential interaction with alkali metal ions and adhere to the surface of the GO. The presence of MNO3 on the surface of GO facilitates the thermal exfoliation process and leads to the formation of structures with an extremely high proportion of mesoporous content. The isothermal gas adsorption results show that the exfoliation efficiency of the samples activated with different nitrate salts decreases in the order rGO-KNO3 > rGO-NaNO3 > rGO-LiNO3. Among these samples, rGO modified with KNO3 exhibited the greatest exfoliation efficiency, with a mesopore-to-micropore volume ratio of 22.4, more than 1.7 times that of rGO. Its SSA and pore volume were 359 m2 g−1 and 1.26 cm3 g−1, respectively. These values significantly surpass those of rGO. Our research findings demonstrate that activation with MNO3 significantly increases the SSA and pore volume of the GO material after high-temperature annealing.

Sorption kinetics of salt-in-porous-matrix composites: The effect of expanded natural graphite on cooling power

Sorption heat transformers and thermal energy storage systems are emerging technologies that utilize and store low-grade waste heat for heating and cooling applications. The performance of sorption systems is not only affected by systems’ operating conditions, and overall systems’ design but also by sorption material or composite parameters such as thermal diffusivity, composition, and pore structure, among others. In this study, CaCl2-based salt-in-porous-matrix composites of different compositions and coating thicknesses were synthesized. During synthesis, salt to silica gel and polyvinyl alcohol to silica gel ratios were fixed and the thermal additive (expanded natural graphite) to silica gel ratio was varied with care from 0 to 0.26 (or 0 to 20.5 wt.%, additive to silica gel ratio). The thickness of samples varied from 2.3 to 8.3 ± 0.1 mm. The composites were characterized by a transient plane source (thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity), nitrogen adsorption porosimetry (specific surface area and total pore volume), and thermogravimetric sorption analysis (water sorption equilibrium) methods. A custom-built gravimetric large pressure jump (G-LPJ) testbed was used to study water sorption kinetics (water uptake vs. time) for selected samples. The thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the studied composite samples have shown significant enhancements, e.g., 240% (0.11 W/(m·K) vs. 0.37 W/(m·K)) and 310% (0.21 mm2/s vs. 0.87 mm2/s), respectively, by adding 12.5 wt.% expanded natural graphite (additive to silica gel ratio is 0.14) as a thermally conductive additive (additive to silica gel ratio) because of thermal percolation effect. This ratio of expanded natural graphite to silica gel was found to be optimal for studied composition. The results indicate that sorption composites with higher thermal diffusivity offer notably higher specific cooling power and improved sorption kinetics, compared to the composites without expanded natural graphite of the same thickness (850 W/kg vs. 480 W/kg at 70% water conversion for samples with thickness of 5.3 mm).

Improving biochar properties through liquid-phase exfoliation of onion peel biochar doped with chicken feathers

In recent decades, heightened environmental awareness has spurred a global push for innovative waste-to-wealth solutions. This study explores liquid-phase exfoliation as a strategy to enhance biochar properties. By doping onion peels and chicken feathers, hybrid biochar (HBC) was produced using a low-temperature co-carbonization system. Two exfoliation routes, the nitric acid and acetone routes, were compared with the un-exfoliated HBC through material characterization. Material characterization revealed distinct morphological features and a range of functional groups being introduced by exfoliation. It was also observed through the BET analysis that the HBC samples are mesoporous, with the exfoliated HBCs having an enhanced surface area and pore volume. Elemental analysis showcased HBC's fortification, highlighting potential applications such as adsorbents and soil amendments. This investigation shows the efficacy of liquid-phase exfoliation in enhancing biochar surface characteristics, opening avenues for diverse applications.

The effect of SO2 on NH3-SCR reaction synergistic CO oxidation over a Mn-Co-Ti catalyst

Mn–Co–TiO2 prepared using an impregnation method was applied to synergistic NH3-based selective catalytic reduction (NH3-SCR) and CO oxidation in a simulated flue gas. The NO conversion, NO oxidation, and CO oxidation were substantially enhanced after adding 15% Co3O4 to the 20MnTi catalyst. In an NO or NO + NH3 atmosphere, CO oxidation over the Mn–Co–TiO2 catalyst was mainly restrained by the competitive adsorption and formation of sulfate species. In contrast, the NH3-SCR reaction progressed almost unimpeded in a CO atmosphere. A SO2 atmosphere drastically reduced the NO conversion of the catalyst at lower temperatures and almost completely suppressed the oxidation activities toward NO and CO. The amount of remaining NO oxidation (approximately 10%) was primarily contributed by gas-phase oxidation of NO by O2. Next, fresh and SO2-poisoned Mn–Co–TiO2 were characterized using various methods. Results indicated that no conspicuous change occurred in the crystal structure of the samples after SO2 poisoning, but numerous sulfate products were deposited on the catalyst surface. The deposition of sulfate-species byproducts decreased the specific surface area and pore volume of the catalyst and shifted the surface acid sites to a higher temperature range, further reducing the CO oxidation performance. Moreover, the catalytic reaction of CO and NO followed the Eley–Rideal mechanism. Furthermore, the mechanisms through which multicomponent flue gases influence the synergistic NH3-SCR and CO oxidation performance were proposed.

Quantitative assessment of reef foraminifera community from metabarcoding data.

Describing living community compositions is essential to monitor ecosystems in a rapidly changing world, but it is challenging to produce fast and accurate depiction of ecosystems due to methodological limitations. Morphological methods provide absolute abundances with limited throughput, whereas metabarcoding provides relative abundances of genes that may not correctly represent living communities from environmental DNA assessed with morphological methods. However, it has the potential to deliver fast descriptions of living communities provided that it is interpreted with validated species-specific calibrations and reference databases. Here, we developed a quantitative approach to retrieve from metabarcoding data the assemblages of living large benthic foraminifera (LBF), photosymbiotic calcifying protists, from Indonesian coral reefs that are under increasing anthropogenic pressure. To depict the diversity, we calculated taxon-specific correction factors to reduce biological biases by comparing surface area, biovolume and calcite volume, and the number of mitochondrial gene copies in seven common LBF species. To validate the approach, we compared calibrated datasets of morphological communities from mock samples with bulk reef sediment; both sample types were metabarcoded. The calibration of the data significantly improved the estimations of genus relative abundance, with a difference of ±5% on average, allowing for comparison of past morphological datasets with future molecular ones. Our results also highlight the application of our quantitative approach to support reef monitoring operations by capturing fine-scale processes, such as seasonal and pollution-driven dynamics, that require high-throughput sampling treatment.

Removal of Phosphate and Ammonium Ion from Domestic Wastewater Using Clay Feldspar in Wupa Sewage Treatment Plant Abuja

The aim of this study is centered on the sustainability of feldspar as an adsorbent as opposed to other clay minerals such as plastic clay, red clay and barite. Brauner-Emmert-Teller (BET) analysis of the clay minerals considered in this study revealed that raw feldspar had the highest surface area and pore volume of 332.8 m²/g and 0.218 cc/g respectively. Similarly, the clay minerals were used in adsorption study with feldspar producing the best removal efficiency of 90.00%and 73.96% for ammonium and phosphate ions respectively. The BET results and the adsorption test showed that feldspar was a better adsorbent than the other adsorbents. Thermal activation of feldspar was carried out at temperatures of 500–700 ◦C using muffle furnace. The BET results of the thermal activation revealed that feldspar activated at 600 ◦C has the highest surface area and pore volume of 533.9 m²/g and 0.272 cc/g respectively. The Fourier’s transformed infrared (FT-IR) results indicated that several functional groups were involved in the adsorption process of the phosphate and ammonium ions some of which were O-H, N-H and C-O groups. The results showed that irregular-layered structures of the raw feldspar became smooth and regular after thermal activation. The effects of pH, adsorbent dosage, temperature, contact time and initial PO₄3− and NH₄⁺ concentrations on the adsorption of phosphate ions and ammonium ions were investigated using atomic adsorption spectroscopy (ASS). The adsorption studies of phosphate ion and ammonium ion onto feldspar increased with contact time, adsorbent dosage and temperatures until optimum values were reached.

New insights into the resistance of silica aerogel to temperature up to 1200 °C

Silica aerogel (SA) with high specific surface area (903 m2/g) and pore volume (6.81 cm3/g) was synthesized via base-catalyzed one-step sol–gel process. Thermal stability of SA under high temperature was estimated from structure evolution with temperature and time. The results demonstrate that the SA is thermally stabile at 1000 °C within 120 min (leaving specific surface area of 286 m2/g and pore volume of 1.46 cm3/g) and 1200 °C within 30 min (leaving specific surface area of 129 m2/g and pore volume of 0.59 cm3/g). The research provides new insights into the resistance of silica aerogels to high temperature, which is significant for application under harsh conditions.