Nanocomposite aerogels: The SiO₂–Al₂O₃ system

Monolithic nanocomposite aerogels of two aluminosilicate compositions have been prepared and characterized by different techniques. The results show that high surface area and mesoporosity can be preserved in the above nanocomposite aerogels by heating at 1000 °C, unlike the single component aerogels. The presence of alumina as a second phase prevented their densification which resulted in surface areas on the order of 500–600 m²/g and mesopores of about 5–6 nm in diameter after heat treatment at 1000 °C. These novel nanocomposite aerogels are expected to find applications at high-temperatures in separations, insulation, catalysis, etc.