Microwave rotational spectroscopy: A physical technique for specific pollutant monitoring

An attempt was made to present substantial evidence that microwave rotational spectroscopy can be developed for use in air pollution monitoring. Work with the diode-cavity spectrometer shows it to be capable to detecting small concentrations on NO2, SO2, H2,CO, and NH3 gas with very high specificity

A rapid supercritical extraction process for the production of silica aerogels

Silica aerogels are a special class of porous materials in which both the pore size and interconnected particle size have nanometer dimensions. This structure imparts unique optical, thermal, acoustic, and electrical properties to these materials. Transmission electron microscopy and small angle x-ray scattering show that this nanostructure is sensitive to variations in processing conditions that influence crosslinking chemistry and growth processes prior to gelation. Recently, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has demonstrated that a Rapid Supercritical Extraction (RSCE) process can be used to prepare near-net shape silica aerogels in hours rather than days. Preliminary data from RSCE silica aerogels show that they have improved mechanical properties and slightly lower surface areas than their conventionally dried counterparts, while not compromising their optical and thermal performance

Aerogels for electronics

In addition to their other exceptional properties, aerogels also exhibit unusual dielectric and electronic properties due to their nano-sized structures and high porosities. For example, aerogels have the lowest dielectric constants measured for a solid material (having values approaching 1.0); they have exceptionally high dielectric resistivities and strengths (i.e., ability to insulate very high voltages); they exhibit low dielectric loss at microwave frequencies; and some aerogels are electrically conductive and photoconductive. These properties are being exploited to provide the next generation of materials for energy storage, low power consumption, and ultra-fast electronics. We are working toward adapting these unusual materials for microelectronic applications, particularly, making thin aerogel films for dielectric substrates and for energy storage devices such as supercapacitors. Measurements are presented in this paper for the dielectric and electronic properties of aerogels, including the dielectric constant, loss factor, dielectric and electrical conductivity, volume resistivity, and dielectric strength. We also describe methods to form and characterize thin aerogel films which are being developed for numerous electronic applications. Finally, some of the electronic applications proposed for aerogels are presented. Commercialization of aerogels for electronics must await further feasibility, prototype development, and cost studies, but they are one of the key materials and are sure to have a major impact on future electronics

Silica aerogel: An intrinsically low dielectric constant material

Silica aerogels are highly porous solids having unique morphologies in wavelength of visible which both the pores and particles have sizes less than the wavelength of visible light. This fine nanostructure modifies the normal transport mechanisms within aerogels and endows them with a variety of exceptional physical properties. For example, aerogels have the lowest measured thermal conductivity and dielectric constant for any solid material. The intrinsically low dielectric properties of silica aerogels are the direct result of the extremely high achievable porosities, which are controllable over a range from 75% to more than 99.8 %, and which result in measured dielectric constants from 2.0 to less than 1.01. This paper discusses the synthesis of silica aerogels, processing them as thin films, and characterizing their dielectric properties. Existing data and other physical characteristics of bulk aerogels (e.g., thermal stablity, thermal expansion, moisture adsorption, modulus, dielectric strength, etc.), which are useful for evaluating them as potential dielectrics for microelectronics, are also given

New organic aerogels based upon a phenolic-furfural reaction

The aqueous polycondensation of (1) resorcinol with formaldehyde and (2) melamine with formaldehyde are two proven synthetic routes for the formation of organic aerogels. Recently, we have discovered a new type of organic aerogel based upon a phenolic-furfural (PF) reaction. This sol-gel polymerization has a major advantage over past approaches since it can be conducted in alcohol (e.g., 1-propanol), thereby eliminating the need for a solvent exchange step prior to supercritical drying from carbon dioxide. The resultant aerogels are dark brown in color and can be converted to a carbonized version upon pyrolysis in an inert atmosphere. BET surface areas of 350--600 m{sup 2}/g have been measured, and transmission electron microscopy reveals an interconnected structure of irregularly-shaped particles or platelets with {approximately}10 nm dimensions. Thermal conductivities as low as 0.015 W/m-K have been recorded for PF aerogels under ambient conditions. This paper describes the chemistry-structure-property relationships of these new materials in detail

Technical applications of aerogels

Aerogel materials posses such a wide variety of exceptional properties that a striking number of applications have developed for them. Many of the commercial applications of aerogels such as catalysts, thermal insulation, windows, and particle detectors are still under development and new application as have been publicized since the ISA4 Conference in 1994: e.g.; supercapacitors, insulation for heat storage in automobiles, electrodes for capacitive deionization, etc. More applications are evolving as the scientific and engineering community becomes familiar with the unusual and exceptional physical properties of aerogels, there are also scientific and technical application, as well. This paper discusses a variety of applications under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for which several types of aerogels are formed in custom sizes and shapes. Particular discussions will focus on the uses of aerogels for physics experiments which rely on the exceptional, sometimes unique, properties of aerogels

Processing and characterization of high porosity aerogel films

Aerogels are highly porous solids having unique morphology among materials because both the pores and particles making up the material have sizes less than wavelengths of visible light. Such a unique morphology modifies the normal molecular transport mechanisms within the material, resulting in exceptional thermal, acoustical, mechanical, and electrical properties. For example, aerogels have the lowest measured thermal conductivity and dielectric constant for any solid material. Special methods are required to make aerogel films with high porosity. In this paper, we discuss the special conditions needed to fabricate aerogel films having porosities greater than 75% and we describe methods of processing inorganic aerogel films having controllable thicknesses in the range 0.5 to 200 micrometers. We report methods and results of characterizing the films including thickness, refractive index, density (porosity), and dielectric constant. We also discuss results of metallization and patterning on the aerogel films for applications involving microminiature electronics and thermal detectors

Thin aerogel films for optical, thermal, acoustic, and electronic applications

Aerogels are a special class of continuously porous solid materials which are characterized by nanometer size particles and pores. Typically, aerogels are made using sol-gel chemistry to form a solvent filled, high porosity gel that is dried by removing the solvent without collapsing the tenuous solid phase. As bulk materials, aerogels are known to have many exceptional, and even some unique physical properties. Aerogels provide the highest thermal insulation and lowest dielectric constant of any other material known. However, some important applications require the aerogels in the form of thin films or sheets. For example, electronic applications require micrometer thin aerogel films bonded to a substrate, and others require thicker films, either on a substrate or as free standing sheets. Special methods are required to make aerogel thin films or sheets. In this paper, the authors discuss the special conditions needed to fabricate thin aerogel films and they describe methods to make films and thin sheets. They also give some specific applications for which aerogel films are being developed