Droplet-templating soft materials into structured bead-based aerogels with compartmentalized or welded configurations.

Achieving precise control over the composition and architecture of nanomaterial-based aerogels remains a significant challenge. Here, we introduce a droplet-templating approach to engineer ultra-lightweight aerogels the interfacial co-assembly of nanoparticles-surfactants (NPSs) at polar/apolar liquid interfaces. This approach enables the creation of aerogels with tailored compartmentalized or welded bead architectures, exhibiting multilayer, gradient, and hybrid morphologies from a range of 1D and 2D nanomaterials.