Synthesis of Silica Aerogel by Supercritical Drying Method

The purpose of this paper was to prepare the silica aerogel using the sol-gel and supercritical drying processes. The supercritical drying was chosen as the most effective process, ensuring the best properties of product. For this reason the authors designed and built the supercritical dryer stand that allowed drying samples in high pressure and elevated temperature. The obtained silica aerogels exhibited good transparency, homogeneity, and comparable density. The specific surface measured by means of BET analysis equaled 870.5 g/cm(3). (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.