Metal Aerogels for Energy Storage and Conversion

Metal aerogels (MAs), which debuted in 2008, are among the youngest members of the aerogel family. Exclusively structured from metals, MAs combine the structural features of aerogels and the unique physical properties of metals, thus being envisaged to revolutionize broad energy storage and conversion fields such as (electro)catalysis and metal-ion batteries. However, as a new-category aerogel, the synthesis methodologies and the underlying formation mechanisms of MAs considerably differ from conventional gel systems, thereby posing big challenges for material design toward task-specific applications. This chapter presents an overview of the history of MAs since their discovery. Aside from highlighting synthesis methodologies and underlying mechanistic insights, the energy-related applications are also systematically discussed.