The present invention relates to a method for preparing a cellulose sponge, comprising: (A) providing a solution of hydroxypropyl cellulose having a self-crosslinkable substituent; and (B) irradiating the solution of hydroxypropyl cellulose having the self-crosslinkable substituent with -ray for crosslinking, wherein a method for preparing the hydroxypropyl cellulose having the self-crosslinkable substituent comprises: (a) dissolving hydroxypropyl cellulose in dimethylformamide to form a hydroxypropyl cellulose solution; (b) dissolving a compound comprising the self-crosslinkable substituent in dimethylformamide and slowly adding it drop by drop into the hydroxypropyl cellulose solution; (c) adding alcohol for reaction; and (d) reacting and drying at room temperature to form the hydroxypropyl cellulose having the self-crosslinkable substituent. The present invention also relates to a mixed solution, comprising dimethylformamide, hydroxypropyl cellulose, a compound comprising a self-crosslinkable substituent and alcohol.

A method for producing porous materials is disclosed. The porous materials can be produced by expansion of polymer gels.

Mechanically strong, biodegradable and reusable aerogels are disclosed, which can be made with a cross-linked cellulose ester, and which exhibit a low density and high porosity. The aerogels disclosed herein may be used as sorbent materials and can be modified with a hydrophobic and/or oleophilic agent.

Thermally treated aerogel compositions that include polyamic amides in an amount less than the aerogel compositions that include polyamic amides prior to thermal treatment, and articles of manufacture that include or are manufactured from the aerogel compositions are described.

Aerogel is a dried product of wet gel being a condensate of sol containing at least one selected from the group consisting of a polysiloxane compound having a hydrolyzable functional group or a condensable functional group and having an average molecular weight of 300 to 1500 g/mol, and a hydrolysis product of the polysiloxane compound having a hydrolyzable functional group.

Polyimide-network battery-separator compositions are disclosed. The polyimide-network battery-separator compositions comprise a porous cross-linked polyimide network comprising a polyamic acid oligomer. The polyamic acid oligomer (i) comprises a repeating unit of a dianhydride and a diamine and terminal functional groups, (ii) has an average degree of polymerization of 10 to 70, (iii) has been cross-linked via a cross-linking agent, comprising three or more cross-linking groups, at a balanced stoichiometry of the cross-linking groups to the terminal functional groups, and (iv) has been chemically imidized to yield the porous cross-linked polyimide network. The polyimide-network battery-separator compositions also comprise an electrolyte composition comprising (i) a room temperature ionic liquid and (ii) a lithium ion. The electrolyte composition is interfused within the porous cross-linked polyimide network. Polyim ide-urea-network battery-separator compositions also are disclosed. Voltaic cells comprising a cathode, an anode, and the polyimide-network battery separator composition or the polyimide-urea-network battery separator composition are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing a porous material, at least comprising the steps of providing a mixture (I) comprising a composition (A) comprising components suitable to form an organic gel and a solvent (B), reacting the components in the composition (A) in the presence of the solvent (B) to form a gel, and drying of the gel obtained in step b). According to the present invention, the composition (A) comprises a catalyst system (CS) comprising a component (C1) selected from the group consisting of alkali metal and earth alkali metal salts of a saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acid and a component (C2) selected from the group consisting of ammonium salts of a saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acid and no carboxylic acid is used as a component of the catalyst system. The invention further relates to the porous materials which can be obtained in this way and the use of the porous materials as thermal insulation material and in vacuum insulation panels, in particular in interior or exterior thermal insulation systems as well as in water tank or ice maker insulation systems.

An aerogel that includes an open-cell structured polymer matrix is disclosed. The aerogel includes 5 wt. % to 50 wt. % of a polyamic amide polymer, based on the total weight of the aerogel, pores and at least 90% of the pore volume of the aerogel is made up of macropores, a porosity of at least 50%, as measure according to ASTM D4404-10, a density of 0.01 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.5 g/cm.sup.3, and the aerogel is thermally stable to resist browning at 330? C.

Aerogel is a dried product of wet gel being a condensate of sol containing at least one selected from the group consisting of a polysiloxane compound having a hydrolyzable functional group or a condensable functional group and having an average molecular weight of 300 to 1500 g/mol, and a hydrolysis product of the polysiloxane compound having a hydrolyzable functional group.

A porous layer is described. The porous layer comprises a solidified sol-gel inorganic material having a distribution of nanometric voids, wherein at least some of nanometric voids are at least partially coated internally by carbon or a hydrophobic substance containing carbon.