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Silica aerogels are excellent thermal insulators, but their brittle nature has prevented widespread application. To overcome these mechanical limitations, silica–biopolymer hybrids are a promising alternative. A one-pot process to monolithic, superinsulating pectin–silica hybrid aerogels is presented. Their structural and physical properties can be tuned by adjusting the gelation pH and pectin concentration. Hybrid aerogels made at pH 1.5 exhibit minimal dust release and vastly improved mechanical properties while remaining excellent thermal insulators. The change in the mechanical properties is directly linked to the observed “neck-free” nanoscale network structure with thicker struts. Such a design is superior to “neck-limited”, classical inorganic aerogels. This new class of materials opens up new perspectives for novel silica–biopolymer nanocomposite aerogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silica aerogels are excellent thermal insulators, but their brittle nature has prevented widespread application. To overcome these mechanical limitations, silica–biopolymer hybrids are a promising alternative. A one-pot process to monolithic, superinsulating pectin–silica hybrid aerogels is presented. Their structural and physical properties can be tuned by adjusting the gelation pH and pectin concentration. Hybrid aerogels made at pH 1.5 exhibit minimal dust release and vastly improved mechanical properties while remaining excellent thermal insulators. The change in the mechanical properties is directly linked to the observed “neck-free” nanoscale network structure with thicker struts. Such a design is superior to “neck-limited”, classical inorganic aerogels. This new class of materials opens up new perspectives for novel silica–biopolymer nanocomposite aerogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biopolymer pectin is readily extracted from apple peel and can be used as an efficient reinforcing agent for silica aerogels. In their Communication on page 14282 ff., M. M. Koebel, T. Budtova et al. present a one‐pot route to monolithic, thermally superinsulating, hybrid silica aerogels through cogelation of pectin and silicic acid, post‐processing, and supercritical drying. This study opens up new perspectives for the synthesis of high‐performance hybrid aerogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]