Carbon Aerogels: Synthesis, Modification, and Multifunctional Applications

Amidst global imperatives for sustainable energy and environmental remediation, carbon aerogels (CAs) present a transformative alternative to conventional carbon materials (e.g., activated carbon, carbon fibers), overcoming limitations of disordered pore structures, unmodifiable surface chemistry, a...

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Main Authors: Liying Li, Guiyu Jin, Jian Shen, Mengyan Guo, Jiacheng Song, Yiming Li, Jian Xiong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Gels
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/7/548
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Summary:Amidst global imperatives for sustainable energy and environmental remediation, carbon aerogels (CAs) present a transformative alternative to conventional carbon materials (e.g., activated carbon, carbon fibers), overcoming limitations of disordered pore structures, unmodifiable surface chemistry, and functional inflexibility. This review systematically examines CA-based electrochemical systems as its primary focus, analyzing fundamental charge-storage mechanisms and establishing structure–property–application relationships critical to energy storage performance. We critically assess synthesis methodologies, emphasizing how stage-specific parameters govern structural/functional traits, and detail multifunctional modification strategies (e.g., heteroatom doping, composite engineering) that enhance electrochemical behavior through pore architecture optimization, surface chemistry tuning, and charge-transfer kinetics acceleration. Electrochemical applications are extensively explored, including the following: 1. Energy storage: supercapacitors (dual EDLC/pseudocapacitive mechanisms) and battery hybrids. 2. Electrocatalysis: HER, OER, ORR, and CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub>RR). 3. Electrochemical processing: capacitive deionization (CDI) and electrosorption. Beyond this core scope, we briefly acknowledge CA versatility in ancillary domains: environmental remediation (heavy metal removal, oil/water separation), flame retardancy, microwave absorption, and CO<sub>2</sub> capture.
ISSN:2310-2861