Abstract

The present invention discloses novel methods for producing highly porous ceramic and/or metal aerogel monolithic objects that are hard, sturdy, and resistant to high temperatures. These methods comprise preparing nanoparticulate oxides of metals and/or metalloids via a step of vigorous stirring to prevent gelation, preparing polymer-modified xerogel powder compositions by reacting said nanoparticulate oxides with one or more polyfunctional monomers, compressing said polymer-modified xerogel powder compositions into shaped compacts, and carbothermal conversion of the shaped xerogel compacts via pyrolysis to provide the highly porous ceramic and/or metal aerogel monolithic objects that have the same shapes as their corresponding xerogel compact precursors. Representative of the highly porous ceramic and/or metal aerogel monolithic objects of the invention are ceramic and/or metal aero gels of Si, Zr, Hf, Ti, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Au, and the like. Examples include sturdy, shaped, highly porous silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si3N4 ), zirconium carbide (ZrC), hafnium carbide (HfC), chromium carbide (Cr3C2), titanium carbide (TiC), zirconium boride (ZrB2), hafnium boride (HfB2), and metallic aerogels of iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), ruthenium (Ru), gold (Au), and the like. Said aerogel monolithic objects have utility in various applications such as, illustratively, in abrasives, in cutting tools, as catalyst support materials such as in reformers and converters, as filters such as for molten metals and hot gasses, in bio-medical tissue engineering such as bone replacement materials, in applications requiring strong lightweight materials such as in automotive and aircraft structural components, in ultra-high temperature ceramics, and the like.

Department(s)

Chemistry

Comments

Docket Number: 18MST033-DIV

Filing Date: 04/08/2020

Issue Date: 04/06/2021, FY21

References Cited

U.S. Patent Documents:

5,484,818 A * 1/1996 De Vos…............C08G 18/022 521/123

7,618,608 B1 * 11/2009 Keller Sr. …............C01B 33/1585 423/335

Prior Publication Data:

US 2020/0377421 A1 December 3, 2020

Patent Application Number

16/842,968

Patent Number

US 10,968,140 B2

Document Type

Patent

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 The Curators of the University of Missouri, All rights reserved

Additional Rights Information

Assignee: The Curators of the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri (US)

Publication Date

6 April, 2021

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