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ABSTRACT
Aerogels are highly porous solid materials with density even less than air. Various materials such as cellulose, chitosan, titanium oxide, chitin, pectin, silica oxide, starch, carrageenan, and mucilage have been used till date to synthesize the aerogels. However, these aerogels can be brittle, toxic, non-biodegradable, and can add environmental load on degradation. Since last few decades, polysaccharide-based aerogels owing to their various advantageous properties such as high porosity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ease of tailoring, have gained more interest. Similar to inorganic-based aerogels, organic or polysaccharide-based aerogels are also being synthesized using the sol-gel technique. However, based on the drying process used, a gel can be transformed into xerogel, cryogel, and xerogel. This article focuses on the synthesis of aerogels using sol-gel process and the classification of gels on the basis of drying processes adopted such as supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) drying, freeze-drying, and ambient pressure drying. Various sources of polysaccharides that can be extracted from plants, animals, and microorganisms have been mentioned in detailed. Additionally, applications of aerogels such as medical, air filtration, packaging thermal insulators, and construction have also been discussed.
Graphical abstract
Acknowledgment
The author acknowledges the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, Punjab, India for supporting this work.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contribution
NR has drafted and written the manuscript. IC has contributed to review the article and approved the submission of the final version of the article.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Nisha Rai
Nisha Rai has done her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Biotechnology from the Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, India. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Philosophy at Dr. B.R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, India on “Functionalized polysaccharide-based aerogel for medical applications.”
Indu Chauhan
Indu Chauhan is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Dr. B.R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, India. She obtained her Ph.D. on functionalized cellulose matrices for environmental remediations from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India in 2015. Her research interests are focused on nanobiotechnology, biopolymers, environmental remediation, waste management, bioplastics, and aerogels.