AEROGEL APPLICATIONS

Aerogel materials possess a wide variety of exceptional properties, he nce a striking number of applications have developed for them. Many of the commercial applications of aerogels such as catalysts, thermal in sulation, windows, and particle detectors are under development and ne w applications have been publicized since the ISA4 Conference in 1994. e.g., supercapacitors, insulation for heat storage in automobiles, el ectrodes for capacitive deionization, etc. More applications are evolv ing as the scientific and engineering community becomes familiar with the unusual and exceptional physical properties of aerogels. Ln additi on to growing commercial applications of aerogels, there are also scie ntific and technical applications, as well. This paper discusses a var iety of technical applications of aerogels. It reports current technic al applications under development for which several types of aerogels are formed in custom sizes and shapes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.