Porous Aerogels and Adsorption of Pollutants from Water and Air: A Review

Aerogels are open, three-dimensional, porous materials characterized by outstanding properties, such as low density, high porosity, and high surface area. They have been used in various fields as adsorbents, catalysts, materials for thermal insulation, or matrices for drug delivery. Aerogels have been successfully used for environmental applications to eliminate toxic and harmful substances—such as metal ions or organic dyes—contained in wastewater, and pollutants—including aromatic or oxygenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—contained in the air. This updated review on the use of different aerogels—for instance, graphene oxide-, cellulose-, chitosan-, and silica-based aerogels—provides information on their various applications in removing pollutants, the results obtained, and potential future developments.