C. Arnold
Princeton University,
United States
Keywords: Carbon-Based Aerogel Materials
Summary:
High surface area, low density hierarchically porous graphitic sheet-based aerogels have drawn massive attention for their potential in catalysis, energy storage/conversion, water purification, and other critical applications. However current syntheses of these materials rely on harsh and non-sustainable chemical reagents, templates, and/or non-commercially viable processing that has limited their implementation in industrial applications. Here we discuss alternative, scalable, green, and energy efficient pathways to creating these complex architectures and the potential application spaces for such materials. In particular, this presentation will focus on the processing of protein feedstock into an aerogel structures containing 2D graphitic sheets supported by 3D carbon fiber backbone with porosity on multiple size scales. We will explain the detailed formation mechanisms of this complex architecture and explore the range of parameters associated with the precursor materials, focusing on the resulting structure-property relationships.