Compressive and Thermally Stable Boron Nitride Aerogel as a Multifunctional Sorbent

Boron nitride (BN) aerogels are three-dimensional, bulk materials, with exceptional performances in a wide range of areas. However, detailed investigations into the relationships of synthesis, structure, and properties are rare. This study demonstrates the feasibility of tuning the performance of the aerogel by simply altering the relative amount of the precursors in the synthesis, which subsequently leads to the formation of aerogels with distinctive properties in specific surface areas, porosity, and compressibility. The utilisations of these structurally different aerogels are exemplified by investigating in a series of important industrial-related areas, such as oil absorption/desorption, direct combustion, adsorptive desulfurisation, and CO2 capture. The study raises the prospects of BN aerogels in applications of gas-phase catalysis and thermal superinsulation materials.