Resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogels and carbon aerogels of different mesoporosities have been used as templates for preparing bimodal zeolites of mesopores. Samples were thoroughly characterized with X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N(2) adsorption at 77 K, as well as FT-IR spectroscopy and (29)Si nuclear ...

Developing a novel and facile way to synthesize composite aerogels plays an important role in the applications of aerogels. UV-resistant hydrophobic titania-containing silica aerogels are prepared for the first time using potassium titanate as precursor by a modified ambient pressure drying method. The well established silica-titania networks, which can be tuned from 10 to 30 nm by adjusting th...

Hybrid organic aerogels consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), and graphene oxide nanosheets (GONSs) were prepared using an environmentally friendly freeze-drying process. The material properties of these fabricated aerogels were measured and analyzed using various characterization techniques including compression testing, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravim...

Cellulose nanofibers or ‘‘whiskers’’ derived from tunicates were coated with PEDOT:PSS to produce high-aspect-ratio nanorods with high electrical conductivity. Films made from these PEDOT:PSS whiskers have surface resistivities as low as 97 U/,. The nanorods were found to disperse well in polar organic solvents such as dimethylformamide, which allowed the fabrication of nanocomposites with iner...

In this study, catalysts for fatty acid methyl esters (FAME or biodiesel) synthesis with K2CO3 as the active component on an alumina/silica support were synthesized using the sol–gel method, which was followed by drying the “dense” wet gels with supercritical carbon dioxide to obtain the aerogels. The prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD analysis, FTIR spectroscopy and N2 physisorption ...

It is well-known that 3D in vitro cell cultures provide a much better model than 2D cell cultures for understanding the in vivo microenvironment of cells. However, significant technical challenges in handling and analyzing 3D cell cultures remain, which currently limits their widespread application. Herein, we demonstrate the application of wholly synthetic thermoresponsive block copolymer worm...

Lignin can be used as a cheap natural raw material to prepare organic aerogels based upon gelation and supercritical drying in ethanol. The aerogels were prepared from a mixture of the raw materials with lignin (L), resorcinol (R), and formaldehyde (F), followed by a reaction catalyzed by NaOH(C). The effect of the preparation conditions, such as the LRF concentration, the mass ratio of LR to N...

We report on a novel slow dynamics of polymer xerogels, aerogels, and nanocomposite aerogels with iron oxide nanoparticles, as revealed by X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. The polymer aerogel and its nanocomposite aerogels, which are porous in nature, exhibit hyper-diffusive dynamics at room temperature. In contrast, non-porous polymer xerogels exhibit an absence of this peculiar dynamics...

Emodin is a component in a Chinese herb, Rheum officinale Baill, traditionally used for diabetes and anticancer. Its poor solubility is one of the major challenges to pharmaceutical scientists. We previously reported on thermoreversible gel formulations based on poloxamer for the topical delivery of emodin. The present study was to understand the effect of poloxamer type on emodin solubility an...