Mechanically reinforced silica aerogel nanocomposites via surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerizations

Here we report the preparation of mechanically robust silica aerogel polymer nanocomposites using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. This approach was used to grow poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with low polydispersities and establish the first structure-property relationship between the grafted PMMA molecular weight and bulk physical properties of the hybrid aerogel.