How to Make Silica Aerogel: Part 2 (#8)

The second in our two-part series focused on the actual process, that is, the art, of making silica aerogels. This episode covers how to prepare gels for supercritical drying, how to perform solvent exchanges with organic solvents and liquid carbon dioxide, and, last but not least, supercritical drying. The conversation is geared towards using a supercritical dryer like the one presented under the Make section here on Aerogel.org, however applies to any suitable supercritical dryer. If you’re already making aerogels and having trouble with cloudiness or cracking, we think you’ll find this episode particularly helpful.

Podcast #8 – How to Make Silica Aerogel: Part 2

[Duration 65:33, 30.0 MB, Recorded March 5, 2010]

Related:

• Podcast #5 – How to Make Silica Aerogel: Part 1 (lab setup and gel synthesis)
• About silica aerogels and how they’re made
• Recipe for silica aerogel using TEOS
• Build a supercritical dryer
• Detailed written instructions and step-by-step pictures for performing supercritical drying with carbon dioxide