Material	Aerogels
	Aerogels are highly porous, transparent metal oxide materials.They are very light (the lightest have a density of only 3 times that of air, i.e. 0.003 g/cm3), and have good heat resistance (up to 800 C) and insulation as the picture of the flower shows. They have an extremely high surface area (600-1000 m2/g) and acoustical insulation (sound speed through an aerogel is only 100 m/s). They are the product of the supercritical drying of a sol-gel produced alcogel. The most important are made of silica. The combination of their properties makes them attractive for a number of applications such as window panes, refrigeration insulators, sound insulators, shock adsorbers for safety devices, pollutant adsorbers and storage containers for rocket fuels.
Danish Name	Aerogels
Category	Ceramics, Technical ceramics
Products	Window pane, aerogel (USA) Window pane, aerogel (Europe)
Processes	Sol-gel Supercritical drying
Similar materials	Nanocomposites metal salt Nanocomposites photoluminiscent Chlorofluorocarbon-blown polyurethane foams.
References	Airglass AB DTU, Department of Building and Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Price	3000-4000 DKK per one 2-4 dm2 sheet
Environmen- tal notes	Creation: The production of silica aerogels is environmentally benign. No significantly hazardous wastes are generated during their production. Use: Silica aerogels are completely non-toxic and non-flammable. Disposal: The disposal of silica aerogels is perfectly natural. In the environment, they quickly crush into a fine powder that is essentially identical to sand.
Additional Info	Supercritical drying removes liquid from a "wet" gel substituing it with air, without shrinkage. Aerogels are available only for laboratory tests, at very high prices. Their mass production (~10 years) will sharply decrese their price.
Photo	Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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