Transparent Silicone Aerogels: Innovation and Functionality toward Commercialization

Silica aerogels are expected to become widely utilized as a versatile functional material due to their unique properties, including high porosity, low thermal conductivity, and high transparency to visible light. Drawbacks such as mechanical friability and high production costs, however, limit their widespread use. Optimizing the chemical structure of the networks in silica aerogels is an important approach to improving the mechanical friability, and elaborate designs of organic-inorganic molecular structure have shown consequential advances in the science and technology of aerogels. Herein, we provide an overview of the key advancements in the chemistry of poly(organosiloxane), or silicone, aerogels that maintain useful properties comparable to silica aerogels, focusing on their mechanical functionalities, surface functionalization, and catalytic applications. Unlike traditional silica aerogels, silicone aerogels exhibit enhanced structural integrity while maintaining high optical transmittance, enabling their use in emerging fields such as flexible optics, energy-efficient windows, and photocatalytic systems. Furthermore, we discuss open challenges and prospects for their industrial implementation, highlighting potential strategies for large-scale productions and performance optimizations.