Equipment

Used to remove the liquid solvent (usually methanol, ethanol, etc.), leaving the chemical or physical gel structure ideally behind without significant shrinkage. This is usually accomplished by solvent exchanging with carbon dioxide several times, then raising the temperature and pressure to the supercritical state where the surface tension becomes negligible. This minimizes the capillary forces from the escaping solvent that would otherwise collapse the gel structure.

We have a smaller one that we use more often since we make smaller batches, but the larger one is occasionally used. 

A typical procedure we use, for example, is: 

• 4 exchanges with liquid CO2 at 10-11 MPa for 90 min

• then 1 exchange at 50C for 90 min

Used to measure size distribution, surface area, and volume of porous materials using liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide. This is usually accomplished by scanning across the equilibrium pressure

Micromeritics Tristar II 3020

Instrument Manual (Backup)

Micromeritics Latest Model

Used to precisely measure the density of liquids and solids, such as the skeletal density of our aerogels

Micromeritrics Accupyc II 1340

Instrument Manual (Backup)

Micromeritics Latest Model

**Description**

TA XT Plus Texture Analyser

Instrument Manual

Stable Micro Systems Latest Model

• Analytical balances

• Centrifuges