Introduction

Abstract

Aerogels were first discovered by an American scientist Samuel Stephens Kistler in the 1930s (Hunt et al. in Insulation Materials: Testing and Applications, ASTM, USA, 1991) but the interest in these materials was renewed during 1970s and 1980s as a catalyst to enhance greener environment. These materials present enormous opportunities in the fields of engineering. Aerogels are a group of very light solid materials, highly porous and known to possess significantly higher thermal insulation properties (Rao et al. in Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology 27:103–109, 2003). They appear as “foam like” translucent substance referred to as “Frozen Smoke”.