Silylation of low-density silica and bridged polysilsesquioxane aerogels
- Kimberly A.
- Douglas A.
- Kenneth V.
- Kennard V.
Silica and bridged polysilsesquioxane aerogels are low-density materials that are attractive for applications such as thermal insulation, porous separation media or catalyst supports, adsorbents, and cometary dust capture agents. However, aerogels are notoriously weak and brittle making it difficult to handle and machine monoliths into desired forms. This complication prevents the development of many applications that would otherwise benefit from the use of the low-density materials. Here, we will describe our efforts to chemically modify and mechanically enhance silica-based aerogels using chemical vapor techniques without sacrificing their characteristic low densities. Monolithic silica and organic-bridged polysilsesquioxane aerogels were prepared by sol-gel polymerization of the respective methoxysilane monomers followed by supercritical carbon dioxide drying of the gels. Then the gels were reactively modified with silylating agents to demonstrate the viability of CVD modification of aerogels, and to determine the effects of silylation of surface silanols on the morphology, surface area, and mechanical properties of the resulting aerogels.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE
- OSTI ID:
- 977646
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-04-3438
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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