Advances in SiC aerogel materials for thermal insulation and electromagnetic wave absorption

Abstract Silicon carbide (SiC) aerogels represent an emerging class of multifunctional materials that integrate a three-dimensional (3D) porous architecture with intrinsically superior physicochemical properties, exhibiting considerable promise for thermal insulation and electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption under extreme environments. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in the fabrication strategies, structure–property relationships, and functional performance of SiC aerogels. For thermal insulation, the highly porous framework effectively suppresses solid-state heat conduction and gas convection, while the wide bandgap semiconducting nature of SiC enables efficient thermal radiation attenuation, collectively ensuring excellent insulation stability at elevated temperatures. SiC aerogels deliver broadband and strong absorption through a combination of moderate electrical conductivity, abundant interfacial polarization, optimized impedance matching, and multiple scattering within the 3D porous network with respect to EMW absorption. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated that synergistic enhancement of thermal insulation and EMW absorption can be achieved via multicomponent compositional engineering, hierarchical structural design, and advanced fabrication techniques, thereby accelerating the deployment of SiC aerogels in frontier applications, including aerospace, defense systems, and thermal management for emerging energy technologies.