Research progress on preparation, modification, and application of phenolic aerogel

Abstract Phenolic aerogel is a type of nanoporous resin-based material with low density, high specific surface area, excellent thermal insulation performance, and a high carbon residue rate which has been widely used in the field of thermal protection. However, the development of phenolic aerogel is limited by the complex and expensive preparation technique, inadequate oxidation/ablation resistance, and excessive brittleness. As a result, academic research is constantly concentrated on low-cost preparation methods and efficient modification of phenolic aerogel. This review gives a description of the preparation technology, modification techniques, and application fields of phenolic aerogel and summarizes the limitations. Now, phenolic aerogel is not applied widely due to its complex and expensive preparation technique. Moreover, phenolic aerogel shows greater brittleness and insufficient mechanical property. The prospective future developments of the materials were prospected, and the phenolic aerogel with environmental protection, efficient thermal protection, and low cost will be the mainstream research direction.