Facile synthesis of resorcinol-formaldehyde/silica composite aerogels and their transformation to monolithic carbon/silica and carbon/silicon carbide composite aerogels

► A novel and simple route to synthesize RF/SiO2 aerogels was presented. ► The monolithic C/SiO2 and C/SiC aerogels were formed from RF/SiO2 aerogels after carbonization and carbothermal reduction. ► The as-synthesized C/SiC aerogels showed mesostructures with high surface area and high pore volume. ► The C/SiC products exhibited good anti-oxidation properties.