Aerogels Today

Abstract

The term “aerogel” is not a name associated with a specific mineral or material with a specific formula, but rather a term that encompasses certain materials with unique geometry and structure. Aerogels are a special class of nanoporous solids with complex interconnectivity and branched structure of a few nanometers. It comes in a variety of forms, colors, and shapes from monolithic to powders. Aerogels have very little solid component and almost made up of 99.8 % of air, which gives the product an almost ghostly appearance.