Aerogels

An Aerogel is a low-density solid-state material derived from gel in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with gas.

Thus an airogel is a highly porous solids, consisting of up to 99.98% of the volume of pores. Due to the ratio of low mass per unit volume, the aerogels are the lightest known solids.

Applications for airogels materials include the storage of solid, gaseous and liquid materials, but also the thermal insulation. Further fields of application are being researched for the moment ...

Below you will find information resources about aerogeles and the chemistry of aerogels. See also: suppliers of aerogels.

Content, Topics

Current Articles
General Information

Lecture Notes, Tutorials
Dissertations

Current Articles

X-ray diffraction looks inside aerogels in 3-D
A multi-institutional team of scientists has used beamline 9.0.1 at the Advanced Light Source to perform high-resolution x-ray diffraction imaging of an aerogel for the first time, revealing its nanoscale three-dimensional bulk lattice structure down to features measured in nanometers, billionths of a meter. Article, August 2008

General Information

A Partial Bibliography for Silica Aerogels
References to technical papers concerning silica aerogels. The Sol-Gel Gateway

Aerogel - A Little Bit of Almost Nothing
Article

Aerogel and Its Applications to RICH Detectors
Research Article 1999

Aerogel Cherenkov Counters
Article 2002

Aerogel in Zero-Gravity
The Effects of Microgravity on the Clarity and Pore Structure of Silica Aerogel Produced Through a Rapid Gelation, Two-Step Catalysis. Zero-G Aerogel Team

Aerogel Photo Gallery
The Silica Aerogels Photo Gallery

Aerogels
Their History, Structure, and Applications

Energy-Efficient Material for Buildings
A demonstration of an aerogel's exceptional insulating properties

Hubert's aerogel page
References to aerogel. LANL

Insulation Properties of Aerogels
Data Sheet. Taasi - Format: PDF

Models for Superfluid 3He in Aerogel
Article, 2007. Helsinki University, LTL

Phase Diagram of 3He in Aerogel
Online-Article, 2000. Helsinki University, LTL

Right Stuff for the Super Stuff
John Glenn will conduct tests with a space age super-substance called aerogel on STS-95. NASA

Samuel Kistler
The life and science of Samuel S. Kistler

Silica Aerogels
A Brief History of Silica Aerogels - Format: PDF

STARDUST Technology: Aerogel
Information

The Sol-Gel Gateway
Sol-Gel science and technology