Abstract
Novel aerogels and xerogels with methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ, CH3SiO1.5) networks have been prepared by a modified sol–gel process using surfactant and urea as a phase-separation inhibitor and as an accelerator for the condensation reaction, respectively. Optimized aerogels dried under a supercritical condition not only showed the similar properties as conventional pure silica aerogels such as high transparency and porosity etc, but also demonstrated outstanding mechanical strength against compression; the aerogel drastically shrank upon loading and then recovered when unloaded, which is called a “spring-back” behavior. On ambient pressure drying, the wet gel also exhibited the similar response against compression stress originated from the capillary pressure, and thus xerogels with the comparative structure and properties to those of corresponding aerogels have also been obtained. This unusual mechanical behavior is attributed to the trifunctional flexible networks of MSQ, low silanol concentration which prevents the irreversible shrinkage, and high concentration of a hydrophobic methyl group directly attached to every silicon atom which helps re-expansion after the temporal shrinkage.
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Acknowledgment
Prof. Hironori Kaji at Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University is highly acknowledged for the measurements of solid state NMR. We also thank Drs. Sono Sasaki and Katsuaki Inoue at Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) for their support for SAXS measurements at SPring-8. The present work was partly supported by a Grant for Practical Application of University R&D Results under the Matching Fund Method from New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan. This research was also partly supported by the Global COE Program “International Center for Integrated Research and Advanced Education in Materials Science” (No. B-09) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, administrated by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
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Kanamori, K., Aizawa, M., Nakanishi, K. et al. Elastic organic–inorganic hybrid aerogels and xerogels. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 48, 172–181 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-008-1756-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-008-1756-6