A comprehensive review of hydrophobic silica and composite aerogels: synthesis, properties and recent progress towards environmental remediation and biomedical applications

The hydrophobicity of silica and composite aerogels has enabled them to acquire applications in a variety of fields. With remarkable structural, morphological, and physiochemical properties such as high porosity, surface area, chemical stability, and selectivity, these materials have gained much attention of researchers worldwide. Moreover, the hydrophobic conduct has enabled these aerogels to adsorb substances, i.e., organic pollutants, without collapsing the pore and network structure. Hence, considering such phenomenal properties and great adsorption potential, exploiting these materials for environmental and biomedical applications is trending. The present study explores the most recent advances in synthetic approaches and resulting properties of hydrophobic silica and composite aerogels. It presents the various precursors and co-precursors used for hydrophobization and gives a comparative analysis of drying methods. Moreover, as a major focus, the work presents the recent progress where these materials have shown promising results for various environmental remediation and biomedical applications. Finally, the bottlenecks in synthesis and applicability along with future prospects are given in conclusions.

Automated summary

The hydrophobicity of silica and composite aerogels has made them widely applicable in various fields. These materials have attracted global researchers' attention due to their remarkable structural, morphological, and physiochemical properties, such as high porosity, surface area, chemical stability, and selectivity. They can adsorb substances, such as organic pollutants, without collapsing the pore and network structure. Exploiting these materials for environmental and biomedical applications is a trending topic due to their exceptional properties and great adsorption potential. This study explores the synthetic approaches, resulting properties, and recent advances in the application of hydrophobic silica and composite aerogels, with a focus on environmental remediation and biomedical applications.