Carbon aerogels prepared by autocondensation of flavonoid tannin

The first carbon aerogels prepared by autocondensation of condensed (flavonoid) tannin, a cheap renewable resource extracted from Mimosa barks, are presented. Mixing aqueous solutions of tannin and sodium silicate indeed produced the very fast gelation of tannins, thus leading to organic hydrogels which were first converted into organic aerogels by supercritical drying, and then into carbon aerogels after pyrolysis at 900 °C. Subsequent...