Advances in Silica Xero- and Aerogels: From Synthesis to a Structure–Activity Relationship (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on “Advances in Silica Xero- and Aerogels: From Synthesis to a Structure–Activity Relationship (2nd Edition)” is dedicated to the recent developments in silica xero- and aerogels, from fundamental aspects to their synthesis, characterization, and applications.

Different synthesis routes can be applied for the synthesis of silica particles. Notably, the sol–gel technique offers a flexible and versatile approach to synthesize a wide range of nano-/microstructures. This Special Issue has the general aim to present different synthesis approaches, the relations between the synthesis parameters, and the final product properties.

The increasing number of scientific papers on the relationship between silica materials/composites’ structure and activity shows the importance of this topic; therefore, this Special Issue also focuses on silica xero- and aerogels’ chemical composition and textural and morphological characterization at the micro- and nano-scale level. Exhaustive characterization can be achieved using common characterization methods such as FT-IR or Raman spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, thermal analysis, XRD, electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), and porosimetry measurements. The presented methods can be completed very well with special characterizations methods such as small-angle X-ray or neutron scattering and ¹⁸O or ²⁹Si solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

We welcome papers about the application of different silica materials and composites in biology, optics, catalysis, medicine, construction, etc.

We sincerely hope that this Special Issue will provide some new insights into the structure–activity relationship of silica materials.

Dr. Adél Len
Dr. Zoltán Dudás
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• synthesis of xero- and aerogels
• sol–gel techniques
• physicochemical characterizations
• structure–activity relationship
• porous structures
• small-angle scattering
• electron microscopy
• applications of silica xerogels and aerogels
• biological activity
• catalytic activity
• magnetic properties
• optical properties

• Advances in Silica Xero- and Aerogels: From Synthesis to Structure–Activity Relationship in Gels (10 articles)