STTR Phase I: Continuous Manufacturing of Mechanically-Robust, Superinsulating Aerogel Monoliths and Thin Films via a New Ambient-Pressure Freeze Drying Technology

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to enable affordable manufacturing process for aerogel, an ultralight structural material that can reduce the fuel consumption and emissions of cars, planes, and rockets. Aerogels are a class of ultralight materials exhibiting unparalleled thermal insulation, soundproofing, and energy-absorbing properties. New structurally-durable aerogels can serve as ultralight alternatives to plastics with potential applications in vehicle lightweighting, energy-efficient buildings, and ultralight armor. The proposed work facilitates transitioning these materials to applications and reducing operating costs, reliance on typical fuels, and emissions in the transportation and construction sectors. It will also benefit artificial tissue scaffolds, apparel, bulletproof vests, and energy storage. This STTR Phase I project will advance the translation of aerogels. Manufacturing monolithic aerogels is currently challenging and expensive because of high-pressure batch processing. The proposed work will develop a first-of-its-kind, potentially continuous, accelerated atmospheric-pressure freeze drying technology to enable cost-efficient manufacturing of monolithic polymer-based aerogels of unlimited dimensions. This will require a multidisciplinary approach integrating freeze drying, fluid physics, and nanoporous media in which jet impingement arrays will be used to achieve drying rates approaching a vacuum-based process without requiring a vacuum or pressure chamber. The research will focus on mass transfer phenomena related to removal of solvent from sol-gel-derived nanoporous gel media without damaging the gel's delicate skeletal framework. The research plan includes fluid flow modeling and experiments to demonstrate process feasibility for large-scale translation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.