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Effect of gel parameters on monolithicity and density of silica aerogels

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Abstract

As part of continuing investigation of the preparation and characterization of silica aerogels, detailed experimental results on monolithicity and density of the aerogels as a function of catalysts and their concentrations, molar ratios of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), ethanol (EtOH) and H2O, gel pH and gel ageing, are reported. With large concentrations of catalysts, lower and higher aged alcogels have been found to produce opaque, cracked and highdensity silica aerogels; however, good-quality monolithic, transparent and low-density aerogels have been obtained at lower catalyst concentration (0. 01n HCl) with alcogel ageing periods between 9 and 30 days. The best quality silica aerogels, in terms of transparency and monolithicity, have been obtained using TEOS∶EtOH∶H2O in the molar ratio of 1∶5∶8.

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  1. A. Venkateswara Rao

    Present address: Laboratoire Des Materiaux et Procedes Catalytiques, Universite Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, 43, Boulevard Du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Air Glass Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, 416004, Kolhapur, India

    A. Venkateswara Rao & N. N. Parvathy

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  1. A. Venkateswara Rao
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  2. N. N. Parvathy
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Venkateswara Rao, A., Parvathy, N.N. Effect of gel parameters on monolithicity and density of silica aerogels. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE 28, 3021–3026 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354707

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354707

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