Synthesis and Characterization of Double Cross-Linked PVPMS Aerogels
Abstract
Aerogels have been rising to the surface as a material of interest for many practical applications. Aerogels are classified as "dried gels with a very high relative pore volume". The practical applications of aerogels include thermal insulators, electrical conductors, sensors, as well as optical applications and more. Aerogels are typically created through supercritical drying, in which the liquid in a sol-gel is turned into gas without destroying the structure of the gel. However, this process requires high pressures and temperatures and the solvents used are highly flammable and unsafe at these conditions. The purpose of this research experiment is to create an undergraduate student laboratory for CHEM411 Materials and Synthesis of Characterization in which the students will create polyvinylpolymethylsiloxane (PVPMS) aerogels using a new method that has been created using ambient pressure drying rather than supercritical drying. The method of ambient pressure drying is safer for an undergraduate laboratory and has significantly less risks than the method of supercritical drying. The proposed student laboratory would include both the synthesis and characterization of the PVPMS aerogels, which are both topics that fall under the American Chemical Society's guidelines for topics in Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanoscale (MSN) systems. Characterization of the resulting PVPMS aerogels would include density, mechanical properties, and infrared spectroscopy (IR).
Synthesis and Characterization of Double Cross-Linked PVPMS Aerogels
Aerogels have been rising to the surface as a material of interest for many practical applications. Aerogels are classified as "dried gels with a very high relative pore volume". The practical applications of aerogels include thermal insulators, electrical conductors, sensors, as well as optical applications and more. Aerogels are typically created through supercritical drying, in which the liquid in a sol-gel is turned into gas without destroying the structure of the gel. However, this process requires high pressures and temperatures and the solvents used are highly flammable and unsafe at these conditions. The purpose of this research experiment is to create an undergraduate student laboratory for CHEM411 Materials and Synthesis of Characterization in which the students will create polyvinylpolymethylsiloxane (PVPMS) aerogels using a new method that has been created using ambient pressure drying rather than supercritical drying. The method of ambient pressure drying is safer for an undergraduate laboratory and has significantly less risks than the method of supercritical drying. The proposed student laboratory would include both the synthesis and characterization of the PVPMS aerogels, which are both topics that fall under the American Chemical Society's guidelines for topics in Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanoscale (MSN) systems. Characterization of the resulting PVPMS aerogels would include density, mechanical properties, and infrared spectroscopy (IR).
