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Title of Paper:Aerogel-Based Photothermal Materials for Environmental Remediation and Solar Energy Utilization: Materials Chemistry, Mechanisms, Structural Design, and Applications

Journal:Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

Place of Publication:Elsevier

Key Words:Aerogel; Photothermal conversion; Solar evaporation; Environmental remediation; Solar energy utilization

Summary:Photothermal conversion provides a direct, efficient, and sustainable route for solar-to-thermal energy utilization, which is critically important for addressing global energy shortage and environmental pollution challenges. Aerogels have emerged as a unique and promising material platform for constructing high-performance photothermal systems owing to their ultrahigh porosity, large specific surface area, ultralow thermal conductivity, excellent light-harvesting ability, and tunable surface chemistry. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the state-of-the-art progress in aerogel-based photothermal materials from the perspectives of materials chemistry and interfacial engineering. Three fundamental photothermal conversion mechanisms and their synergistic effects are systematically elucidated, and five typical aerogel material systems are categorized. Rational structural design strategies are highlighted for boosting light absorption, thermal localization, charge separation, and mass transport. Representative environment-related applications, including solar-driven interfacial evaporation, photothermal catalysis, organic pollutant degradation, and oil spill remediation, are discussed with emphasis on performance breakthroughs and structure-activity relationships. Furthermore, we critically analyze current scientific bottlenecks, technical limitations, and scalability challenges, and propose targeted future research directions. This review aims to establish a systematic framework for the rational design, mechanism optimization, and scalable development of advanced aerogel photothermal materials for sustainable solar energy conversion and environmental remediation. Nevertheless, current photothermal aerogels are still plagued by insufficient scalability, poor long-term structural durability and high fabrication costs, which greatly impede their practical industrial applications.

First Author:Tong Jing

Correspondence Author:Meng Dai,Tianguang Lu,Zuoli He

All the Authors:Fangying Hong,Huijun Yu,Sen Wang,Liang Guo,Shuguang Wang

Document Code:124461

Discipline:Engineering

First-Level Discipline:Resources and Environment

Document Type:J

Volume:14

Issue:5

Page Number:124461

Impact Factor:7.5

DOI Number:10.1016/j.jece.2026.124461

Number of Words:26364

Translation or Not:No

Date of Publication:2026-08

Included Journals:SCI

Links to Published Journals:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2026.124461

Release Time:2026-08-03