Abstract:

As new kind of nano-porous structured material, SiO₂ aerogels have excellent properties such as high specific surface area, low thermal conductivity and refractive index, and hence are widely used in various fields. However, the low mechanical strength and brittle quality of SiO₂ aerogels severely limit their industrial application. Therefore, the improvement on the mechanical properties of SiO₂ aerogels is essential for its widespread application. Recently, the introduction of functional components into SiO₂ aerogels has become one of most effective methods to enhance their strength and flexibility. In this frontier review, the preparation and modification of SiO₂ aerogel have been introduced first. The design of nanoparticles-SiO₂ aerogel composites is then discussed in detail. The influences of different dimensional nanomaterials such as 0D metal oxides nanoparticles, 1D nanotubes/nanofiber, 2D graphene oxide nanosheets and 3D metal-organic frameworks on the structure and surface physicochemical characteristics of the aerogels are analyzed. Finally, the industrial application potentials of SiO₂ aerogel composites in environmental adsorption/catalysis are discussed.

Key words: silica, composite aerogels, nanoparticles, adsorption, catalysis

摘要：

SiO₂气凝胶作为一种新型多孔网络结构材料，具有高比表面积、低热导率及低折射率等优异性能，在多领域具有广泛的应用前景，但是纯SiO₂气凝胶存在力学强度低、质脆易裂等缺陷，严重制约了其规模化应用。因此，如何提升气凝胶的力学性能成为突破其产业化瓶颈的重点。目前，通过引入功能性增强相是改善SiO₂气凝胶多孔骨架强度和柔韧性的最有效途径之一。本综述首先介绍了SiO₂气凝胶制备及复合改性方法；然后对功能纳米颗粒/SiO₂复合气凝胶合成进行探讨，分析了不同维度纳米材料如0D金属氧化物颗粒、1D纳米管/纳米纤维、2D氧化石墨烯纳米片（GO）以及3D金属有机骨架材料（MOFs）对气凝胶孔道结构和表面物化特性的影响，最后，论述了SiO₂复合气凝胶在环境吸附催化领域中的应用潜力。

关键词: 二氧化硅, 复合气凝胶, 纳米粒子, 吸附, 催化