Wood-aerogel composites

In collaboration with Applied Wood Materials Lab, a novel hierarchically structured wood-templated silica aerogel hybrid material was synthesized through sol impregnation and in situ gelation within spruce and beech wood, followed by a chemical modification and supercritical or ambient pressure drying. The developed method presents a new route for efficient incorporation of lightweight silica aerogel into the cellular material structure without the need for pretreatments to access the complex and fine lumen network. This study provides proof-of-concept for the in situ preparation of template-based hybrid aerogels, enabling a new generation of multifunctional bioinspired materials with a range of tailorable physical properties and applications. [6]
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[1] M.S. Gilani et al., Design of a hierarchically structured hybrid material via in situ assembly of a silica aerogel into a wood cellular structure, RSC Adv. 6(67) (2016) 62825-62832.
Dr. Shanyu Zhao

Dr. Shanyu Zhao
Group leader in Functional Aerogel Materials Group

Phone: +41 58 765 4244