Silica aerogels are highly-porous materials that exhibit unique properties such as a high specific surface area, low density and low index of refraction. Those properties allow the usage of silica aerogels in applications like catalytic supports, thermal and acoustic insulators and removal of aqueous and air pollutants. These materials are synthesized by sol-gel processing techniques in order to obtain silica gel, followed by a drying process where the liquid solvent is extracted without compromising the solid particle network. Furthermore, silica aerogels can be modified to become hydrophobic by the addition of sylilating agents or by reactions with gaseous compounds, i.e. gaseous methanol. The following abstract will be dedicated to the synthesis of a hydrophobic silica aerogel using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as a precursor and trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) as a surface modifying agent, as well as the characterization of the resultant aerogel through conventional techniques (i.e. SEM, TEM, FTIR spectroscopy), NMR spectroscopy (i.e. 1H, 13C, 29Si) and HP 129Xe. The last characterization methods have been previously reported in silica aerogels and provide insight on its surface chemistry through 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR spectroscopy while HP 129Xe NMR spectroscopy yields a more physical approach by providing information of the pore structure. The combination of electron microscopy, IR and NMR spectroscopy will give vast information regarding the aerogel’s porous structure and its chemical composition. Moreover, the results could yield valuable information considering that HP 129Xe NMR spectroscopy is not as popular as nitrogen adsorption-desorption and the BET method, among other structural characterization techniques in silica aerogels.

Synthesis and characterization of a hydrophobic silica aerogel using SEM, TEM, FTIR, NMR spectroscopy and HP 129Xe

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.