Universal surface-coordinated assembly of metal oxide/sub-1 nm nanowire composite aerogels

Sub-1 nm nanowires (SNWs) have attracted significant attention as novel building blocks in the aerogel field because of their unique structures; however, their single chemical composition and limited assembly strategies restrict the development and application of sub-1 nm nanowire aerogels (SNWAs). Herein, we report a controlled assembly strategy for SNWs that utilizes the coordination between metal oxide precursors and hydroxyl ligands on the SNW surface, as well as the hydrolysis-condensation reactions of the precursors themselves, to achieve the compositing of metal oxides with SNWs, thereby endowing the resulting SNWAs with multifunctionality. This approach successfully yields twelve types of metal oxide/sub-1 nm nanowire composite aerogels (MO_x-SNWAs) with low density (as low as 14 mg cm⁻³) and high specific surface area (up to 299 m² g⁻¹). Further studies revealed that WO₃ composite sub-1nm nanowire aerogel (WO₃-SNWAs) simultaneously exhibited excellent transparency, photochromism, thermal insulation, and photocatalytic performance, demonstrating broad application prospects.