Fabrication of functionally graded aerogels, cellular aerogels and anisotropic ceramics

Synthesis and biomedical applications of aerogels: Possibilities and challenges

“…Meador et al [128] introduced epoxy monomer in the initial sol, Wingfield et al [129] used an acrylic monomer and Duan et al [130] used a custom-synthesized, water-dispersible urethane oligomer. Recently, White [131] shortened the aerogel composite fabrication by conducting the experiment with simple one pot approach and using the more economic-friendly ethanol-water azeotrope mixture as gelation solvent.…”

Shortened aerogel fabrication times using an ethanol–water azeotrope as a gelation and drying solvent

“…As briey mentioned in Section 3.1, the use of the ethanol-water azeotrope mixture as a gelation solvent alleviated monomer solubility issues and simplied processing. In our previous work, 23 for example, we noticed that the high water concentration of the gelation solution imposed the use of monomers that were at least partially water-dispersible, such as methyl methacrylate, usually in a concentration below about 10% by weight. By using the ethanol-water azeotrope mixture, gelation solutions could be prepared using a highly hydrophobic monomer such as HDDA in a concentration as high as 40% by weight which gelled in approximately one hour.…”

“…Leventis et al 21 added acrylonitrile to a methanolic solution of an alkoxide and a catalyst. Meador et al 22 used an epoxy monomer, our own group used an acrylic monomer, 23 and Duan et al used a custom-synthesized, water-dispersible urethane oligomer. 24 In all these reports, however, exchange with dry solvents was required prior to drying, which lengthened the fabrication process.…”

Aerogels Materials for Applications in Thermal Energy Storage

“…RF aerogel was developed in the 1980s by the Pekala using a polycondensation strategy. CAs were the product of pyrolyzing, which was generated in the 1990s [51,52]. But in recent times, besides RF and CAs several other fascinating materials are trending like CNT, graphene, and so on [53−58].…”