Studies on rheological properties of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) based flexible superhydrophobic silica aerogels

Low-density TEOS-based silica aerogels prepared at ambient pressure using isopropanol as the preparative solvent

“…Moreover, extensive polymerization leads to dense cross-linking which restricts the relative movement of the polymer chains under the action of an external force, resulting in the formation of a rigid polymer. A low degree of polymerization results in a polymer with a low Young's modulus which can easily be deformed [34]. The optical transmittance obtained (at 750 nm) was found to be higher (91%) for the aerogels prepared with the isopropanol solvent than the aerogels prepared using solvents with shorter alkyl chains (Fig.…”

Silica Aerogels: A Multifunctional Building Material

“…2 ) [ 7 ]. Different synthetic strategies have therefore been developed to improve the mechanical performance of aerogels, such as using fl exible silica precursors in the silica gel backbone [ 8 ], conformal coating of silica backbone via surface cross-linking with polymers [ 9 ], and dispersing reinforced fi bers into the initial sol of aerogels [ 10 ]. The reinforced aerogels may have some extended applications due to their newly empowered structural and functional properties.…”

Methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS)-based silica–iron oxide superhydrophobic nanocomposites

“…Rao and coworkers have demonstrated the ability to create intrinsically superhydrophobic silica aerogels from MTMS and MTES precursors with a stable network structure [15,16]. The reduced connectivity and the hydrophobic interactions lead to elastic mechanical properties which greatly differ from those of native silica aerogels [17,18]. Here, we report the synthesis of superhydrophobic silica-iron oxide nanocomposites via a co-precursor sol-gel process.…”