The present invention discloses novel porous polymeric compositions comprising random copolymers of amides, imides, ureas, and carbamic-anhydrides, useful for the synthesis of monolithic bimodal microporous/macroporous carbon aerogels. It also discloses methods for producing said microporous/macroporous carbon aerogels by the reaction of a polyisocyanate compound and a polycarboxylic acid compound, followed by pyrolytic carbonization, and by reactive etching with CO.sub.2 at elevated temperatures. Also disclosed are methods for using the microporous/macroporous carbon aerogels in the selective capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing a hydrophobic metal oxide-silica composite aerogel, in which a degree of hydrophobicity may be controlled while having a high specific surface area and a low tap density, and a hydrophobic metal oxide-silica composite aerogel prepared thereby. The preparation method according to the present invention may not only have excellent productivity and economic efficiency due to a relatively simpler preparation process and shorter preparation time than the related art, but may also perform an effective surface modification reaction by using a small amount of a surface modifier. Thus, since the surface modification reaction may be easily performed by using only a very small amount of the surface modifier, a hydrophobic metal oxide-silica composite aerogel containing about 1 wt % to 2 wt % of carbon may be prepared.

Provided are a method of preparing a metal oxide-silica composite aerogel, and a metal oxide-silica composite aerogel having an excellent weight reduction property prepared by the method. The method includes a step of adding an acid catalyst to a first water glass solution to prepare an acidic water glass solution (step 1); a step of adding a metal ion solution to the acidic water glass solution to prepare a precursor solution (step 2); and a step of adding a second water glass solution to the precursor solution and performing a gelation reaction (step 3) to yield a metal oxide-silica composite wet gel, wherein, in steps 2 and 3, bubbling of an inert gas is performed during the adding of the metal ion solution or the second water glass solution, respectively.

Disclosed herein is an aerogel made from a polyhydroxy benzene compound crosslinked with formaldehyde. The aerogel is dry and has a first volume and wherein the aerogel can be exposed to a liquid and be re-dried in a gas while retaining at least 70% of the first volume.

A method of freeze-drying comprising rapidly freezing either liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide in and around a material having pores at a rate of at least 0.2° C./min to limit the size of crystals formed from the carbon dioxide so as to avoid the formation of gas bubbles and damage to the pores and exposure of the material to gas-liquid interfaces. During freezing a solid layer primarily of solid carbon dioxide is formed on and surrounding the material by transferring heat with a cryogenic liquid circulating about the material. This solid layer protects the material from gas-liquid interfaces and surface tension before decreasing pressure about the material by venting carbon dioxide.

A method of making molecularly doped nanodiamond. A versatile method for doping diamond by adding dopants into a carbon precursor and producing diamond at high pressure, high temperature conditions. Molecularly doped nanodiamonds that have direct incorporation of dopants and therefore without the need for ion implantation. Molecularly-doped diamonds that have fewer lattice defects than those made with ion implantation.

Provided is an aerogel blanket and a method for producing the same, wherein a catalyzed sol I sufficiently and uniformly impregnated into a blanket in an impregnation tank, and the catalyzed sol is allowed to stay in the impregnation tank for a specific time to control fluidity while achieving a viscosity at which the catalyzed sol can be easily introduced into the blanket, thereby forming a uniform aerogel in the blanket. As a result, the uniformity of pore structure and thermal insulation performance of an aerogel blanket are improved, the loss of raw materials is reduced through the impregnation process, the occurrence of process problems is reduced, and the generation of dust is reduced.

Disclosed herein is a method of preparing a silica aerogel. The silica aerogel is prepared by adding a first water glass solution and an acid catalyst to a reactor to form a first silica wet gel. The method further includes adding a second water glass solution and an acid catalyst to the first silica wet gel. The method further includes adding a surface modifier solution to the first silica wet gel to form a second silica wet gel. The method further includes drying a silica wet gel including the first silica wet gel and the second silica wet gel. The prepared silica aerogel has a tap density of 0.032 to 0.070 g/mL and a carbon content of 11.2 to 12.1 wt %.

The present invention relates to methods of forming aerogels.

An aerogel that includes an open-cell structured polymer matrix that can have 5 wt. % to 50 wt. % of a polyamic amide polymer, based on the total weight of the aerogel is disclosed. The aerogel can have a density of 0.05 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.35 g/cm.sup.3 and can be thermally stable to resist browning at 330° C.