Figure 1
From: Diatom-inspired silicification process for development of green flexible silica composite aerogels
Fabrication procedure of diatom-inspired composite aerogel. (1) SF was extracted from the cocoon of B. mori silkworm. Tyrosine amino acid of SF was oxidized with tyrosinase enzyme in the presence of oxygen (SFO). (2) The SFO is then surface modified with branched PEI to obtain SFO-PEI. (3) The SFO-PEI-Silica hydrogel was developed. (4) TEOS was hydrolyzed by an acid catalyst to form silicic acid for silicification. (5) The hydrogel composite obtained was hydrophobized with HMDS. (6) The hydrogel was washed, and then the composite aerogels and cryogels were obtained after supercritical CO2, and freeze dryings, respectively.
