New Methodology for Functional Materials Aerogels

Technology 

This invention encompasses a new methodology to enable aerogel production with a wide range of materials. Colloidal suspension is initially uniformly dispersed with surfactant in solvent using sonication at low concentration, and evaporated slowly at room temperature so that it transformed into a more concentrated suspension with a large compressional volume change. As a result, the more concentrated suspensions of nanocylinders become gels consisting of 3D network of nanocylinders. The gels form at transition concentration between semi-dilute and isotropic concentrated regime and the resultant gels are washed to remove surfactant and then dried using critical point drier or freezing drier into aerogels remaining the gel network intact.  

Problem Addressed      

Aerogels have numerous applications due to their high surface area and low densities. However, creating aerogels from a large variety of materials has remained an outstanding challenge.  

Advantages

• Gel can be formed from almost any material starting with colloid suspension of rod, nanowires, nanotubes, or nanosheet of material
• Straightforward to develop aerogel material by extracting the liquid in the gel via CPD
• Simple, efficient process that does not require proper precursors, reinforcements or supporting materials
• Aerogels are extremely porous and ultrafine
• Nanocylinders gels have perfectly interconnected 3D network, which results in good electrical properties  

Publications

"A Facile Route for 3D Aerogels From Nanostructured 1D and 2D Materials." Scientific Reports, November 14, 2012.