Research progress and applications of silica-based aerogels - a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Silica aerogels are three-dimensional porous materials that were initially produced in 1931. During the past nearly 90 years, silica aerogels have been applied extensively in many fields. In order to grasp the progress of silica-based aerogels, we utilize bibliometrics and visualization methods to analyze the research hotspots and the application of this important field. Firstly, we collect all the publications on silica-based aerogels and then analyze their research trends and performances by a bibliometric method regarding publication year/citation, country/institute, journals, and keywords. Following this, the major research hotspots of this area with a focus on synthesis, mechanical property regulation, and the applications for thermal insulation, adsorption, and Cherenkov detector radiators are identified and reviewed. Finally, current challenges and directions in the future regarding silica-based aerogels are also proposed.

Fig. 1. (a) The trend of publications and citations. (b) The most contributive countries/regions based on the total publication. H-index values appear in the brackets. (c) The most productive institutions based on the total publication.

Fig. 2. (a) Bibliographic coupling analysis of referenced sources. The node size represents the number of publications. (b) Keyword co-occurrence analysis with at least 10 occurrences. The node size represents the occurrence frequency of the keywords.

Fig. 3. (a) The representative microscopic image of PSAs Copyright 1999, Elsevier. (b) The representative microscopic image of FSAs obtained by ice template method the scale represents 20 μm. Copyright 2020, Springer Nature. (c) The representative microscopic image of FSAs obtained by solution blow spinning method. The scale rerepresents 500 μm. Copyright 2020, Springer Nature. (d) The representative microscopic image of 3D printing SAs. Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society.

Fig. 4. (a) Synthetic route of SNF aerogels. (b) Structures of different crosslinking silane coupling agents. (c) Compressive σ versus ε at the 5th loading–unloading cycle of different SNF aerogels. Copyright 2020, John Wiley and Sons. (d) Synthetic route of thermal-solidifying SAs. Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society.

Fig. 5. (a) The thermal insulation performance of Al₂O₃–SiO₂ aerogels at high temperature. (b) The thermal conductivity of Al₂O₃–SiO₂ aerogels at different densities. (c) The thermal conductivity of the Al₂O₃–SiO₂ aerogels with a density of 16 mg cm⁻³. Copyright 2020, Springer Nature. (d) The inhibition of air heat transfer by decreasing pore size. Copyright 2017, Elsevier. (e) The mechanism of adding opacifier for inhibiting thermal insulation. Copyright 2021, Elsevier.

Fig. 6. (a) The adsorption of hydroxyl modified SAs for CR and MB. Copyright 2021, Elsevier. (b) The adsorption of RF/SiO₂ aerogels for CO₂. Copyright 2015, Elsevier.