A SYNTHETIC ROUTE TO ORGANIC AEROGELS - MECHANISM, STRUCTURE, AND PROPERTIES

R. Pekala , F. Kong

The base catalyzed, aqueous reaction of resorcinol with formaldehyde follows a sol-gel pathway in which surface functionalized polymer"clusters" are formed. The covalent crosslinking of these "clusters" produces gels which are dried under supercritical conditions to obtain low density, organic aerogels (≤ 200 mg/cc) . The aerogels are transparent and have cell sizes less than 100Å. Their microstructure consists of interconnected colloidal-like particles with diameters of 30-100 Å. The particle size, cell size, surface area, and density of resorcinol - formaldehyde (RF) aerogels are largely determined by the catalyst concentration in the mixture. RF aerogels are similar to silica aerogels in many ways, yet a comparison of their mechanical properties suggests subtle morphological differences.

Domaines: Articles anciens

R. Pekala, F. Kong. A SYNTHETIC ROUTE TO ORGANIC AEROGELS - MECHANISM, STRUCTURE, AND PROPERTIES. Journal de Physique Colloques, 1989, 50 (C4), pp.C4-33-C4-40. ⟨10.1051/jphyscol:1989406⟩. ⟨jpa-00229481⟩