Scalable Template Synthesis of Resorcinol-Formaldehyde/Graphene Oxide Composite Aerogels with Tunable Densities and Mechanical Properties

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 54; no. 8; pp. 2397 - 2401
• Main Authors: Wang, Xin, Lu, Lei-Lei, Yu, Zhi-Long, Xu, Xue-Wei, Zheng, Ya-Rong, Yu, Shu-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 16.02.2015; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Aerogels; Cobalt; Compressibility; Density; Formaldehyde; Graphene; graphene oxide; Low temperature; Mechanical properties; Metal ions; Oil pollution; Oxides; Pollutant removal; resorcinol; Sheet metal; Synthesis; compressibility; graphene oxide; resorcinol; aerogels
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201410668

Resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) and graphene oxide (GO) aerogels have found a variety of applications owing to their excellent properties and remarkable flexibility. However, the macroscopic and controllable synthesis of their composite gels is still a great challenge. By using GO sheets as template skeletons and metal ions (Co2+, Ni2+, or Ca2+) as catalysts and linkers, the first low‐temperature scalable strategy for the synthesis of a new kind of RF–GO composite gel with tunable densities and mechanical properties was developed. The aerogels can tolerate a strain as high as 80 % and quickly recover their original morphology after the compression has been released. Owing to their high compressibility, the gels might find applications in various areas, for example, as adsorbents for the removal of dye pollutants and in oil‐spill cleanup. A composite aerogel consisting of resorcinol/formaldehyde and graphene oxide (GO) could be synthesized on large scale by using GO sheets as template skeletons and metal ions (Co2+, Ni2+, or Ca2+) as catalysts and linkers. These compressible aerogels can tolerate a strain as high as 80 % and quickly recover their original shapes.