Construction of ultra-light and flexible aerogels with superior high oil sorption capacity by controlling the mechanical property of SiO2 nanofibers

We presented a novel strategy to construct flexible SiO 2 nanofibrous silica aerogel (SNF/SAG) for ultrahigh oil adsorption by controlling the mechanical property of SiO 2 nanofibers (SNFs). The SNF/SAG was constructed assisted with flexible SNF template and low content methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS) co-precursors by sol-gel and ambient pressure drying processes. The prepared SNF/SAG is assembled with core/shell fibrous skeleton with coarse surface by hydrolyzed silica particles accumulated on the SNF surface. The ultralow density (0.0084 g cm −3 ), "Schisandra" like skeleton and hydrophobicity make the SNF/SAG possess very high oil sorption capacity up to 165.6 g g −1 of CH 2 Cl 2 . The SNF/SAG presents excellent flexibility for multiple compression without obvious deformation and crack for stable oil sorption and collection through squeezing. The significant reduction of the organic silane precursors and excellent thermal insulation properties thanks to the high porosity endow the SNF/SAG as promising material for insulation applications in a wide temperature range.