synthesis and characterization of nano-porous silica aerogel by applying a novel supercritical drying system

In this study, a simple and novel supercritical dryer system was designed to drying of wet gel, aiming to the removal of the high energy-consumption equipment such as pump and strong compressor# the system is capable to provide the supercritical state in the fluid, only using the control of thermodynamic conditions# to ensure the proper efficiency of developed dryer system, the silica aerogel was successfully derived from tetraethyl orthosilicate as starting material of silica# the amorphous phase of silica was identified by xrd analysis# the specific surface area, and average pore size were measured about 659 m2/g and 22 nm, respectively, via bet method# n2 adsorption-desorption isotherm curve shown the type iv isotherm, indicating the mesoporous structure with cylindrical and capillary pores# the bulk density and porosity were measured about 0#11 g/cm3 and 95%, respectively# the fesem micrograph indicates spherical morphology, porous structure and open mesopores in range of 10-30 nm# these results confirm the proper efficiency and performance of designed supercritical dryer system#