With their low density, high surface area and thermal insulation properties, silica aerogels are proper candidates for water remediation or thermal insulation applications. However, their fragility, lengthy and costly fabrication process restricts their application. The inclusion of a flexible melamine foam (MF) along with a co-precursor system consisting of monomeric methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and polymeric polyvinyltrimethoxysilane (PVTMS) can make the fabrication process feasible and improve the durability of aerogels. Also, PVTMS with a doubly-crosslinked network brings mesoporous structure and high surface area to MF. MTMS alters the hydrophilic nature of MF to superhydrophobic, without surface modification steps.

Varying concentration of PVTMS and MTMS were used to fabricate the MF- aerogel composite. Acid and base catalysts were used for the hydrolysis and condensation. The MF-aerogel composite was obtained using ambient pressure drying, and the overall fabrication process took around 48 hrs.

The inclusion of MF enabled the ambient pressure drying and brought flexibility for silica aerogels. On the other hand, the presence of mesoporous aerogels improved the thermal insulation properties of MF (λ ∼ 0.027 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹), making it superhydrophobic (θ ∼ 160°), self-cleaning, and moisture resistant. Excellent oil adsorption (up to 36 g·g⁻¹) and oil–water separation performance (oil flux of 120,000 L·m⁻²·hr⁻¹) of MF-aerogel composite were also confirmed.

二氧化硅气凝胶具有低密度、高表面积和隔热性能，是水修复或隔热应用的合适选择。然而，它们的脆弱性、漫长且昂贵的制造过程限制了它们的应用。包含柔性三聚氰胺泡沫（MF）以及由单体甲基三甲氧基硅烷（MTMS）和聚合聚乙烯三甲氧基硅烷（PVTMS）组成的共前体系统可以使制造工艺变得可行并提高气凝胶的耐久性。此外，具有双交联网络的PVTMS为MF带来了介孔结构和高表面积。MTMS 将 MF 的亲水性改变为超疏水性，无需表面改性步骤。

使用不同浓度的PVTMS和MTMS来制造MF-气凝胶复合材料。酸和碱催化剂用于水解和缩合。MF-气凝胶复合材料是通过常压干燥获得的，整个制造过程大约需要48小时。

MF 的加入使得常压干燥成为可能，并为二氧化硅气凝胶带来了灵活性。另一方面，介孔气凝胶的存在提高了MF的隔热性能(λ ∼ 0.027 W·m ^-1 ·K ^-1 )，使其具有超疏水性(θ ∼ 160°)、自清洁和防潮性能。MF-气凝胶复合材料还具有优异的吸油性能（高达36 g·g ^-1）和油水分离性能（油通量为120,000 L·m ^-2 ·hr ^{-1 ）。}