Preparing carbon black aerogel quickly by chemical vapor deposition

Carbon black aerogel, a new type of carbon aerogel made of carbon black, has been prepared rapidly and inexpensively by chemical vapor deposition without catalyst. In just 5 h, more than 0.8 kg of carbon black aerogel were obtained from a mixture of propane and argon. With a well-developed branching network structure and good graphitization, carbon black aerogel has a low density (0.11 g/cm3), high compressive strength (0.543 MPa), extremely low thermal conductivity (0.049 W/(m·K)) and outstanding super-hydrophobic properties. A discussion also is given about the process of forming aerogels using carbon black as the base material. This finding may explore a cost-effective method of fabricating carbon aerogels and enrich the variety of carbon materials available. [Display omitted] •Carbon black aerogel, a new type of carbon aerogel, has been prepared by chemical vapor deposition.•Carbon black aerogel is manufactured in large quantities and low-cost in a short time without catalyst.•Using carbon black particle as a base material to form carbon aerogel.•Carbon black aerogel has characteristics such as low density, low thermal conductivity, good electrical conductivity, super-hydrophobic and so on.•Revealed the process of carbon black transform to aerogels, make it possible to produce carbon aerogels cheaply and efficiently.