Aerogels are ultra-lightweight foams with extremely small pores. The most commonly thought of aerogels based on silica suffer from fragility and poor environmental durability. Recently, polymer aerogels and silica aerogels cross-linked with polymers have demonstrated unique advantages over inorganic aerogels including higher strengths and compressive moduli, greater toughness, and the ability to be fabricated as a flexible thin film. The next evolution in this family of materials is the development of nanoparticle reinforced polymer aerogels. By combining the advantages of polymer aerogels with the properties afforded by different nanoparticles, ultra-low density multifunctional (piezoelectric, radiation absorbing, electrically conductive, anisotropic thermal conductivity, etc.) aerogel composites can be fabricated. The first challenge along this path is to functionalize nanoparticles to be compatible and/or crosslink with the polymer aerogel. Herein, we describe our first results in the pursuit of boron nitride nanotube reinforced polymer aerogel nanocomposites for low-density high-temperature stable applications.<br/>

Polymer aerogel nanocomposites via functionalized nanoparticles

2019 Spring National Meeting

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