Designing Nanostructured Carbon Xerogels

Surface and porous textural properties of silica–wollastonite composites prepared by sol–gel process

“…In order to compare results obtained from BET SSA and BJH analysis for xerocomposites with constant SiO 2 content but various CaSiO 3 contents, we found it more interesting and appropriate to present BET and BJH analysis as a function of the weight (g) of SiO 2 only. For our calculations, the skeletal density of the silica phase in our TW and LW xerogels was estimated to be 2 g/cm 3 . This value, lower than 2.2 g/cm 3 (amorphous silica), was reported for sol-gel silica, especially when the synthesis was performed without thermal nor oxidation treatment [30].…”

“…Silica xerogels and aerogels are fascinating materials due to their unique physical properties, such as large specific surface area (SSA), low bulk density, high porosity, high sorption capacity, very high thermal shock resistance, insolubility in most solvents, and lower index of refraction compared to other inorganic gels [1][2][3]. They are thus interesting materials for both technological applications and theoretical research owing to the originality of their fractal structure [4].…”