Controllable assembly of sub-1 nm nanowires for the construction of aerogels

Aerogels exhibit excellent properties owing to their nano-sized building blocks and unique structures. With increasing application demands, traditional nanoscale building blocks have limitations in further optimizing the performance of aerogels; therefore, the development of novel, high-performance building blocks has become an urgent challenge in the field. Sub-1 nm nanowires (SNWs) exhibit polymer-like properties that make them superior to nanoscale nanowires, and are well-suited as new building blocks for aerogels. In this study, we achieved precise control over the aggregation state of GdOOH SNWs (Gd–SNWs) in three-dimensional space by regulating the interactions between SNWs as well as between SNWs and solvents, thereby obtaining SNW aerogels (SNWAs) with low density ( ~ 0.024 g cm −3 ) and high specific surface area (505 m 2 g −1 ). After silanization, the superhydrophobic SNWAs exhibited excellent fatigue resistance (50 cycles with a set strain of 50%). This innovative approach enriches the types of aerogels building blocks and opens up new avenues for high-performance aerogels.