Double-network silica–polyacrylamide composite aerogels with enhanced mechanical integrity and multifunctional adsorption performance
Abstract
A facile strategy was developed to synthesize silica/polyacrylamide composite aerogels that simultaneously exhibit high mechanical strength and large surface area. An interpenetrated organic polyacrylamide network was incorporated within the silica framework without additional cross-linkers, enabling efficient stress distribution and enhanced structural integrity. The optimized TDB-Pam(2 M) composite aerogel possesses a homogeneous mesoporous network with a specific surface area of 774 m ² g ⁻¹ , low density (0.346 g cm ⁻³ ), and superior compressive strength (22.3 MPa) with a Young’s modulus of 25.3 MPa. The incorporation of amide-rich polyacrylamide also provided selective binding sites for heavy-metal ions, achieving more than 90% Hg ²⁺ removal efficiency and a Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of 626.79 mg g ⁻¹ for TDB-Pam(2 M). This synthesis route provides an effective approach to fabricate mechanically reinforced, multifunctional silica-based aerogels applicable to environmental purification and other advanced porous-material applications.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026doublenetwork,
title = {{Double-network silica–polyacrylamide composite aerogels with enhanced mechanical integrity and multifunctional adsorption performance}},
author = {Qi Wang and Wonjun Lee and D. B. Mahadik and Taehee Kim and Hyung-Ho Park},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-73704-3},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-73704-3},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Double-network silica–polyacrylamide composite aerogels with enhanced mechanical integrity and multifunctional adsorption performance
AU - Qi Wang
AU - Wonjun Lee
AU - D. B. Mahadik
AU - Taehee Kim
AU - Hyung-Ho Park
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/10
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-73704-3
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-73704-3
AB - A facile strategy was developed to synthesize silica/polyacrylamide composite aerogels that simultaneously exhibit high mechanical strength and large surface area. An interpenetrated organic polyacrylamide network was incorporated within the silica framework without additional cross-linkers, enabling efficient stress distribution and enhanced structural integrity. The optimized TDB-Pam(2 M) composite aerogel possesses a homogeneous mesoporous network with a specific surface area of 774 m ² g ⁻¹ , low density (0.346 g cm ⁻³ ), and superior compressive strength (22.3 MPa) with a Young’s modulus of 25.3 MPa. The incorporation of amide-rich polyacrylamide also provided selective binding sites for heavy-metal ions, achieving more than 90% Hg ²⁺ removal efficiency and a Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of 626.79 mg g ⁻¹ for TDB-Pam(2 M). This synthesis route provides an effective approach to fabricate mechanically reinforced, multifunctional silica-based aerogels applicable to environmental purification and other advanced porous-material applications.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -