Vivek Yadav

Aerogels are novel materials that span the gap between liquids and gases because of their distinctive physical properties, such as high surface area and low thermal conductivity. Aerogels are extremely light, highly porous, and low-density materials, but they may also be made to exhibit mechanical properties like increased stiffness and strength by controlling their feature structures while keeping their relative density low. Due to excellent properties shown by aerogels, they have a lot of different applications and are used in paints, pharmacy, sensors, insulators, acoustics and tank baffles etc. In the recent times, Research and Development have contributed a lot in aerogels but it has not been as successful to industrialise and commercialise a lot of those aerogels such as synthetic and polymer-based aerogels. In this article we will discuss the past, current and future perspectives to overcome such challenges for maximum commercialisation and scale up of aerogels as well as discuss about the properties and applications of different types of aerogels for sustainability and carbon neutrality.

A considerable amount of decarbonization is being driven by multinational corporations and technology companies all over the world as a result of the necessity to reduce and control the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) to lower the global carbon footprint. A perspective of the outlook of green hydrogen generation is held through the utilization of AEMs, wind, and PEMECs to establish energy transitional approaches. Anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolysers overcome the worst problems of conventional types of electrolysers because of their ability to use non-platinum and non-nafion membrane materials, high hydrogen storage density, and compact microcells recommended for large-scale low-carbon systems. Another technique for ultraclean hydrogen production via oxidation is ethanol electrocatalysis in PEMECs. In this study, hydrogen production via water electrolysis with the help of anion-conducting solid polymer electrolytes and a novel integrated inorganic membrane electrode assembly (I2 MEA) for anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis by using inorganic Mg-Al layered double hydroxides (Mg-Al LDHs) as an ionic conductor were also theoretically and economically investigated and opinionated to produce low-carbon hydrogen.

In most cases, bulletproof vests do not give the desired total protection to the users; therefore, it would be more accurate to refer to them as "Bullet-resistant." Most vests comprise steel or ceramic plates covered in para-aramids or artificial high-performance fibres like Kevlar, Spectra, and Dyneema. Despite its high tensile strength, Kevlar also has disadvantages like poor compression strength, which makes it urgent to find alternatives to the materials used in bulletproof vests. With the recent advances in technology and innovation, many materials are used other than para-aramid fibres, like Kevlar, Spectra, and Dyneema. These include Graphene, which weighs less than paper yet is the most robust material ever. Natural fibres which are reinforced in the Kevlar polymer composite, carbon nanotube-polymer composites, Kenaf fibre, Cordura, ballistic nylon, TWIP (twinning induced plastic) steel, shear thickening fluid (STF) filled paper panels, etc. With so many alternatives to advanced materials used in ballistic applications, many researchers are researching the materials. However, it is still in research and development and not commercially available for military and other purposes.

Global growth and sustainability highly depend upon the output of industries, corporations, governments, and non-governmental organisations requiring comprehensive energy transition in the face of a worldwide crisis demanding carbon neutralisation. The carbon neutralisation challenges required for energy transition could be overcome by detailed surveying, recording and the analysis of the carbon dioxide emissions. It is crucial to study innovative materials like metal-organic frameworks for their transdisciplinary applications towards carbon capture to have a sustainable strategy to capture harmful emissions. In addition, the CO₂ solubility, adsorption and absorption capacity, and several reinforcing characteristics and factors for carbon dioxide capture using MOFs are discussed in detail. Further, for various multidisciplinary applications towards commercialisation, MOFs solubility, adsorption and absorption parameters were considered. Moreover, the essential organic qualities of MOFs and their organo-derivatives are considerably elaborated. Overall, to align with the current sustainable development goals, it is significant that carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced along with its capture in a scientific manner. Relevant projections for carbon capture through MOFs have been reviewed industrially and universally in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).