NANOCOMPOSITE AEROGELS - THE SIO2-AL2O3 SYSTEM

Monolithic nanocomposite aerogels of two aluminosilicate compositions have been prepared and characterized by different techniques. The resu lts show that high surface area and mesoporosity can be preserved in t he above nanocomposite aerogels by heating at 1000-degrees-C, unlike t he single component aerogels. The presence of alumina as a second phas e prevented their densification which resulted in surface areas on the order of 500-600 m2/g and mesopores of about 5-6 nm in diameter after heat treatment at 1000-degrees-C. These novel nanocomposite aerogels are expected to find applications at high-temperatures in separations, insulation, catalysis, etc.