We describe a new room-temperature HCl-catalyzed method for the synthesis of polybenzoxazine (PBO) aerogels from bisphenol A, formaldehyde, and aniline that cuts the typical multiday high-temperature (≥130 °C) route to a few hours. The new materials are studied comparatively to those from heat-induced polymerization, and both types are evaluated as precursors of carbon (C-) aerogels. In addition to the ortho-phenolic position of bisphenol A, the HCl-catalyzed process engages the para position of the aniline moieties leading to a higher degree of cross-linking. Thereby, the resulting aerogels consist of smaller particles with higher mesoporosity, higher surface areas (up to 72 m 2 g −1 ), and lower thermal conductivities (down to 0.071 W m −1 K −1 ) than their thermally polymerized counterparts (corresponding best values: 64 m 2 g −1 and 0.091 W m −1 K −1 , respectively). It is also reported that the carbonization efficiency (up to 61% w/w), the nanomorphology, and the pore structure of the resulting C-aerogels depend critically on a prior curing step of as-prepared PBO aerogels at 200 °C in the air. According to spectroscopic evidence and CHN analysis, curing at 200 °C in air oxidizes the −CH 2 − bridges along the polymeric backbone and subsequently fuses aromatic rings (see Abstract Graphic) in analogy to transformations during carbonization processing of polyacrylonitrile. C-aerogels from cured PBO aerogels are microscopically similar to their respective parent aerogels; however, they have greatly enhanced surface areas, which, for C-aerogels from HClcatalyzed PBOs, can be as high as 520 m 2 g −1 with up to 83% of that attributed to newly created micropores. The acid-catalyzed route is used in the next article for the synthesis of iron oxide/PBO interpenetrating networks as precursors of iron(0) aerogels.

Flexible and foldable aerogels have commercial value for applications in thermal insulation. This study investigates the molecular connection of macroscopic flexibility using polymeric aerogels based on star-shaped polyurethane-acrylate versus urethane-norbornene monomers. The core of those monomers is based either on a rigid/ aromatic, or a flexible/aliphatic triisocyanate. Terminal acrylates or norbornenes at the tips of the star branches were polymerized with free radical chemistry, or with ROMP, respectively. At the molecular level, aerogels were characterized with FTIR and solid-state 13 C NMR. The porous network was probed with N 2 -sorption and Hg-intrusion porosimetry, SEM and SAXS. The interparticle connectivity was assessed in a top-down fashion with thermal conductivity measurements and compression testing. All aerogels of this study consist of aggregates of nanoparticles, whose size depends on the aliphatic/ aromatic content of the monomer, the rigidity/flexibility of the polymeric backbone, and generally varies with density. At higher densities (0.3−0.7 g cm −3 ), all materials were stiff, strong, and tough. Aerogels based on urethane-acrylates built around a rigid/aromatic core exhibited a rapid decrease of their elastic modulus with density (slopes of the log−log plots >5.0), and at about 0.14 g cm −3 , they were foldable. Data support that molecular properties of the monomer affect macroscopic flexibility indirectly, not so through the particle size, but rather through the growth mechanism and consequently through the interparticle contact area. Thus, flexible aerogels of this study showed no indication for polymer accumulation onto the primary nanostructure (particle sizes via N 2 -sorption and SAXS were comparable), and their interparticle contact area was comparatively lower. Because for flexibility purposes, interparticle contact area is related to interparticle bonding, it is speculated that if the latter is controlled properly (e.g., through adjustment of the monomer functional group density) it might lead to superelasticity and shape-memory effects.

In anhydrous CH 3 CN, 4-benzoyl-N-methylpyridinium cations undergo two reversible, well-separated (∆E 1/2 ∼ 0.6 V) one-electron reductions in analogy to quinones and viologens. If the solvent contains weak protic acids, such as water or alcohols, the first cyclic voltammetric wave remains unaffected while the second wave is shifted closer to the first. Both voltammetric and spectroelectrochemical evidence suggest that the positive shift of the second wave is due to hydrogen bonding between the two-electron reduced form of the ketone and the proton donors. While the one-electron reduction product is stable both in the presence and in the absence of the weak-acid proton donors, the two-electron reduction wave is reversible only in the time scale of cyclic voltammetry. Interestingly, at longer times, the hydrogen bonded adduct reacts further giving nonquaternized 4-benzoylpyridine and 4-(R-hydroxybenzyl)pyridine as the two main terminal products. In the presence of stronger acids, such as acetic acid, the second wave merges quickly with the first, producing an irreversible two-electron reduction wave. The only terminal product in this case is the quaternized 4-(Rhydroxybenzyl)-N-methylpyridinium cation. Experimental evidence points toward a common mechanism for the formation of the nonquaternized products in the presence of weaker acids and the quaternized product in the presence of CH 3 CO 2 H.

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