Preparation and characterization of dual-mesoporous hybrid membrane based on silica aerogel and electrospun halloysite nanotube fiber mat

Dual-mesoporous materials are hierarchical materials with both small and large mesopores. The large mesopores offer pathways for rapid molecular transport and the small pores provide a large specific surface area, conferring excellent advantages for adsorption and catalysis. Herein, novel dual-mesoporous inorganic fiber hybrid membranes were prepared by compounding a rigid multi-scale halloysite nanotube mat (HNM) and silica aerogel (SA). The results suggest that HNM is a promising inorganic support for SA, affording a dual-mesoporous membrane with superhydrophobicity (water contact angle: 152.7°, specific surface area: 244 m 2 /g, high compressive strength exceeding 3.0 MPa). The hybrid membrane featuring a novel composition, low cost, and easy preparation can be applied as a catalyst carrier to ensure the efficient synthesis of chemical raw materials, and as a filter template to block volatile organic compounds and other harmful substances. Moreover, this processing strategy is potentially useful for fabricating sensing, ultralow dielectric , or thermally insulating materials for next-generation information technologies.