Fabrication and properties of optically transparent silica aerogels for hypervelocity particle capture

Optically transparent silica aerogel with high specific surface area and low density based on tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) were prepared by using a two-step sol-gel process. Obtained aerogels are more transparent than conventional samples, and the refractive index is well controlled in the acetonitrile supercritical drying process. We developed monolithic aerogels with a density of 0.04g/cm3 as space dust capturer. The microstructure and morphology of highly transparence silica aerogels were characterized by the specific surface area, SEM, UV-Vis and the pore size distribution techniques. The results shown that highly transparence silica aerogels are with excellent performance in physical properties, such as high optical transmittance (86.4%, 800 nm), low density (0.04 g/cm3), high specific surface area (925.4 m /g) and large pore volume (2.4 cm3/g). Which are critical characteristics for practical applications of highly transparent silica aerogel, particularly in particle capture areas, for easy observation and lossless capture.