Controllable assembly of sub-1 nm nanowires for the construction of aerogels.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41844603.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-70713-8.
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Abstract
Aerogels exhibit excellent properties owing to their nano-sized building blocks and unique structures. With increasing application demands, traditional nanoscale building blocks have limitations in further optimizing the performance of aerogels; therefore, the development of novel, high-performance building blocks has become an urgent challenge in the field. Sub-1 nm nanowires (SNWs) exhibit polymer-like properties that make them superior to nanoscale nanowires, and are well-suited as new building blocks for aerogels. In this study, we achieved precise control over the aggregation state of GdOOH SNWs (Gd-SNWs) in three-dimensional space by regulating the interactions between SNWs as well as between SNWs and solvents, thereby obtaining SNW aerogels (SNWAs) with low density ( ~ 0.024 g cm<sup>-3</sup>) and high specific surface area (505 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>-1</sup>). After silanization, the superhydrophobic SNWAs exhibited excellent fatigue resistance (50 cycles with a set strain of 50%). This innovative approach enriches the types of aerogels building blocks and opens up new avenues for high-performance aerogels.