This indispensable handbook provides comprehensive coverage of the current state-of-the-art in inorganic, organic, and composite aerogels – from synthesis and characterization to cutting-edge applications and their potential market impact. Built upon Springer’s successful Aerogels Handbook published in 2011, this handbook features extensive revisions and timely updates, reflecting the changes in this fast-growing field. Aerogels are the lightest solids known to man. Up to 1000 times lighter than glass and with a density only four times that of air, they possess extraordinarily high thermal, electrical, and acoustic insulation properties, and boast numerous entries in Guinness World Records. Originally based on silica, R&D efforts have extended this class of materials to incorporate non-silicate inorganic oxides, natural and synthetic organic polymers, carbon, metal, and ceramic materials. Composite systems involving polymer-crosslinked aerogels and interpenetrating hybrid networks have been developed and exhibit remarkable mechanical strength and flexibility. Even more exotic aerogels based on clays, chalcogenides, phosphides, quantum dots, and biopolymers such as chitosan are opening new applications for the construction, transportation, energy, defense and healthcare industries. Applications in electronics, chemistry, mechanics, engineering, energy production and storage, sensors, medicine, nanotechnology, military and aerospace, oil and gas recovery, thermal insulation, and household uses are being developed. Readers of this fully updated and expanded edition will find an exhaustive source for all aerogel materials known today, their fabrication, upscaling aspects, physical and chemical properties, and the most recent advances towards applications and commercial use. This key reference is essential reading for a combined audience of graduate students, academic researchers, and industry professionals.

Aerogels are the lightest solids known. Up to 1000 times lighter than glass and with a density as low as only four times that of air, they show very high thermal, electrical and acoustic insulation values and hold many entries in Guinness World Records. Originally based on silica, R&D efforts have extended this class of materials to non-silicate inorganic oxides, natural and synthetic organic polymers, carbon, metal and ceramic materials, etc. Composite systems involving polymer-crosslinked aerogels and interpenetrating hybrid networks have been developed and exhibit remarkable mechanical strength and flexibility. Even more exotic aerogels based on clays, chalcogenides, phosphides, quantum dots, and biopolymers such as chitosan are opening new applications for the construction, transportation, energy, defense and healthcare industries. Applications in electronics, chemistry, mechanics, engineering, energy production and storage, sensors, medicine, nanotechnology, military and aerospace, oil and gas recovery, thermal insulation and household uses are being developed with an estimated annual market growth rate of around 70% until 2015. The Aerogels Handbook summarizes state-of-the-art developments and processing of inorganic, organic, and composite aerogels, including the most important methods of synthesis, characterization as well as their typical applications and their possible market impact. Readers will find an exhaustive overview of all aerogel materials known today, their fabrication, upscaling aspects, physical and chemical properties, and most recent advances towards applications and commercial products, some of which are commercially available today. Key Features: •Edited and written by recognized worldwide leaders in the field •Appeals to a broad audience of materials scientists, chemists, and engineers in academic research and industrial R&D •Covers inorganic, organic, and composite aerogels •Describes military, aerospace, building industry, household, environmental, energy, and biomedical applications among others

This book contains the papers presented at the "First International Sympo st sium on Aerogels (1 ISA)", held in September 1985 at. the University of Wiirzburg, Fed. Rep. of Germany. It was the first meet.ing of this kind, wit.h participants from several European count.ries, the United States of America, Canada, South America, and Africa. The meeting was interdisciplinary, with most of the participants being physicists, chemists or material scientists ei ther from universities or from industrial research institutes. Let me try to shed some light upon the class of substances the symposium was about: Aerogels are extremely porous high-tech materials, consisting ei ther of silica, alumina, zirconia, stannic or tungsten oxide or mixtures of these oxides. Due to their high porosity (up t.o 99%!) and t.heir large inner surface, aerogels serve as especially active catalysts or as catalytic subst.rates, as adsorbents, fillers, reinforcement agents, pigments and gellifying agents. Silica aerogels as translucent or transparent superinsulating fillers in window systems could help to considerably reduce thermal losses in windows and to improve the energy balance in passive solar systems. Aerogels also have fas cinating acoustic properties - the sound velocity can be as low as 100 m/s! The production of aerogels starts with the controlled conversion of a sol into a gel: The growth of clusters or polymer chains from a chemical solution, the cross-linking of these primary entities and the formation of a coherent network - still embedded in a liquid.

Advances in Aerogel Composites for Environmental Remediation presents both contextual information aboutaerogels and details about their application in environmental remediation. A wide variety of aerogels are discussed, rangingfrom common to advanced and from natural to synthetic. By exploring ongoing research and developments in the environmentalremediation technologies using aerogel and its composites, this book addresses common day-to-day environmental problemsand presents solutions to the use of aerogel materials. The chapters discuss fabrication of various aerogel composites, alongwith their design and applications toward different environmental remediation technologies. Additionally, the properties andadvantages of aerogels are compared and contrasted to those of traditional materials. Given the consistent increase in environmental pollution, there is an urgent need to explore new materials for advances in remediationtechnology. Advances in Aerogel Composites for Environmental Remediation brings researchers and practitionersin the fields of environmental remediation, environmental science, and engineering to the forefront of remediation technologieswith a thorough breakdown of the benefits of and techniques relevant to aerogel composites. Covers basic properties, unique properties, and fabrication techniques of aerogels, from basic silica aerogels topresent-day conventional aerogels Discusses most of the major environmental remediation techniques and the advantages of using aerogels for theseremediation techniques in comparison to using traditional methods Presents future prospects for utilizing aerogels in modern day-to-day life and in the fabrication of tangible new products

Handbook of Thermosetting Foams, Aerogels, and Hydrogels: From Fundamentals to Advanced Applications presents the latest on the preparation, characterization, properties and applications of thermoset foams, aerogels and hydrogels. The book begins by introducing each of these concepts and their characteristics, current applications, potential for further development, and environmental impacts. This is followed by three sections, each focusing on foams, aerogels and hydrogels developed from a specific thermosetting polymer category, covering polyurethane, epoxy resins and formaldehyde. In each section, detailed coverage includes preparation, structure, characterization, properties, processing and applications based on material, along with key challenges in design, processing, implementation and solutions. This is a valuable resource for researchers and advanced students with an interest in thermoset lightweight materials across the disciplines of polymer science, chemistry, nanotechnology, materials science and engineering. The book will also be of interest to R&D professionals, engineers and scientists working with foams, hydrogels and aerogels for a range of applications and industries. Provides methodical coverage of polyurethane, epoxy and formaldehyde-based foams, aerogels and hydrogels Explores a range of high value applications across automotive and aerospace, defense, biomedicine, and other areas Considers challenges in design, processing and implementation, along with environmental aspects such as biodegradability and recyclability

Explore the energy storage applications of a wide variety of aerogels made from different materials In Aerogels for Energy Saving and Storage, an expert team of researchers delivers a one-stop resource covering the state-of-the-art in aerogels for energy applications. The book covers their morphology, properties, and processability and serves as a valuable resource for researchers and professionals working in materials science and environmentally friendly energy and power technology. The authors offer a comprehensive review of highly efficient energy applications of aerogels that bridges the gap between engineering, science, and chemistry and advances the field of materials development. They provide a Life Cycle Assessment of aerogels in energy systems, as well as discussions of their impact on the environment. Aerogel synthesis, characterization, fabrication, morphology, properties, energy-related applications, and simulations are all explored, and likely future research directions are provided. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to aerogels in energy, including state-of-the-art advancements and challenges newly encountered Comprehensive explorations of chitin-based and cellulose-derived aerogels, as well as lignin-, clay-, and carbon nanotube-based aerogels Practical discussions of organic, natural, and inorganic aerogels, with further analyses of the lifecycle of aerogels In-depth examinations of the theory, modeling, and simulation of aerogels Perfect for chemical and environmental engineers, Aerogels for Energy Saving and Storage will also earn a place in the libraries of chemistry and materials science researchers in academia and industry.