Synthesizing Techniques of Aerogels and Its Application

Aerogel is a porous, synthetic, and featherweight material that is derived from a gel whose liquid constituent is removed and replaced by a gas constituent without substantial destruction of the gel framework. These dry solids have very subsided density, extraordinary flexibility, incredible low density, extremely low thermal conductivity, and have large surface areas. Most of the aerogels show amorphous structures that can be examined by X-ray diffraction methods. Aerogels form a new solids class exhibiting revolutionary capabilities. Many drying techniques such as supercritical, freeze-drying, vacuum, ambient pressure, and microwave are considered as the fundamental part of their preparation which already has been used for drying the wet-gel. The three common lighter solid materials are aerogel, cryogel, and xerogel which could be synthesized depending on the applied drying technique. A wide range of peculiar properties are possessed by aerogels; hence various applications have developed from them. Catalysts, thermal insulators, and particle spotters are examples of commercial aerogels that are underdeveloped. As the scientific and engineering community are now more familiar with the strange and unique physical properties of aerogels, more applications are being developed. In this context, we would discuss about various techniques used for synthesizing aerogels and highlight the application of the aerogels.