ASIAN INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE

SCHOOL
(2019-20)

CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT:

AEROGEL

BY: VIGNESH VENKATESH

CLASS: XI B

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my deep gratitude and

sincere thanks to the Principal Mr. Ansar, for
her encouragement and for providing such an
opportunity.

I am very thankful to Mrs. Preetha Lal,

Chemistry teacher, who encouraged and guided
me to finish the project. I also express my deep
sense of gratitude for her invaluable guidance,
constant support, immense motivation, which
has sustained my efforts.

I can’t forget to offer my sincere thanks to

my parents who always motivated and helped
me research on this project, and also my
classmates for their valuable suggestions and
support
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 INDEX
S. No. TITLE Page No.
1 Introduction 4
2 Theory 5-6
3 Apparatus Required 7
4 Chemicals Required 7
5 Steps 8-9
6 Result 10
7 Advantages/Disadvantages 11
8 Applications 12
9 Conclusion 13
10 Bibliography 14

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 INTRODUCTION
Aerogel is a synthetic, porous, ultralight
material derived from a gel, in which
the liquid component for the gel has been
replaced with a gas. The result is a solid with
extremely low density and has extremely
amazing thermal insulating properties.
One of the famous nicknames given to this
material is “FROZEN SMOKE”. It has a very
low density and thus weighs very less. As the
liquid is converted into gas, the Aerogel is
basically 99.8% air. This is light enough to
balance it on a flower.

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 THEORY
Aerogel was first created by Samuel
Stephens Kistler in 1931, as a result of a
bet with Charles Learned over who could
replace the liquid in "jellies" with gas without
causing shrinkage.
Aerogels are produced by extracting the liquid
component of a gel through supercritical drying,
which basically means liquifying a gas having a
high critical temperature and then heating it in
order to obtain an aerogel made completely out
of gas. The first aerogels were produced
from silica gels. Later aerogels were made out
of a lot of substances such as alumina, tin oxide,
Carbon, Gold, etc.

CARBON AEROGEL GOLD AEROGEL ALUMINA AEROGEL

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 STRUCTURE
OF AEROGEL

STRUCTURE
OF GLASS

Aerogel is not a single material with a set

chemical formula; instead, the term is used to
group all materials with a certain geometric
structure. Aerogel closely resembles the
structure of glass as well. That is why when it
breaks, it breaks like glass.

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APPARATUS REQUIRED
• Supercritical Dryer
• Carbon Dioxide Tank
• Baking Paper
• Rubber Gloves
• Safety Goggles

CHEMICALS REQUIRED

• Conc. Ammonium Hydroxide (NH4OH)

• Deionized Water (H2O)
• Tetramethyl Orthosilicate (TMOS)
(SiC4H12O4)
• Methanol (CH3OH)
• Acetone (C3H6O)

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 STEPS
• Combine 4.9g or 5.4 ml Conc. NH4OH with
1L of H2O in a glass beaker.

• Label the bottle as "Ammonium

Hydroxide Solution." or "NH4OH soln."

• Combine 10g or 10 ml Tetramethyl

Orthosilicate (TMOS) with 7.8g or 10 ml
methanol in a glass beaker.

• Stir it well until mixed thoroughly and label

this mixture as "Solution A."

• Combine 5g or 5 ml of the solution

previously prepared (NH4OH soln.) with
7.8g or 10 ml of methanol in another glass
beaker. Label this beaker as "Solution B."
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• Carefully pour the (Solution B) into the
(Solution A) and stir with a glass stirring
rod until completely combined.

• Pour this mixture/ combined liquid onto the

baking paper in lines and let the gel set.

• After the gel sets, place it under methanol

and let it age. (min. 24hrs)

• Change the methanol out for fresh methanol

(or acetone), at least four times over the
course of a week. (*This step is done in
order to remove the water out.)

• Place the gel in the supercritical dryer's

compartment and heat the carbon dioxide to
about 45o at a pressure of about 100 bar.
(*This causes the methanol to be
drawn/removed out leaving behind aerogel.)

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 RESULT
Once all the steps are followed properly and
thoroughly, we will get a substance known as
"Silica Aerogel" more commonly known as
"Frozen Smoke"

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 ADVANTAGES

• Excellent thermal insulator

• Very light (about 99.8% air)

• High tensile strength

(depends on material used)

DISADVANTAGES

• Expensive production process

• Uncertain health risks

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 APPLICATIONS

• Chemistry:
▪ Catalysts
▪ Extracting agents
• Physics:
▪ Cryogenics
▪ Transportation
▪ Machinery
▪ Sensors
▪ Detectors
▪ Insulators
▪ Paints
• Agriculture:
▪ Cryogenics
▪ Weedicides
▪ Pesticides

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 CONCLUSION
As seen previously, Aerogel has plenty of
uses. It can shape the 21st century and the future
in amazing ways from protecting our houses to
insulating the satellites that are launched into
space.

Aerogel Technologies, LLC is the world’s leading

manufacturer of mechanically strong aerogel materials,
leading online distributor of aerogel materials, and leading
provider of custom aerogel solutions.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.aerogeltechnologies.com/about/our-company/
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Aerogel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogel
https://classroom.google.com/c/MTgzMjQ5OTkwMjha/m/MzcyMjg1M
Tk1NDFa/details
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeJ9q45PfD0
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187661021734710
0
http://www.pacorinc.com/blog/2014/04/advantages-aerogel-
insulation-compared-types-insulation/
http://www.aerogel.org/?p=4
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/218472?lang=
en&region=AE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkoxide
https://scholar.google.ae/scholar?q=INTRODUCTION+OF+AEROGEL&hl
=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

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