AEROGEL MATERIALS BASED ON METAL OXIDES AND COMPOSITES THEREOF

PATENT RIGHTS FULLY GRANTED ON JANUARY 25th, 2012. ABSTRACT: The present invention describes a new class of high porosity materials with aerogel properties, based on metal oxides and their composites, possessing a high surface area and a high pore volume distributed within a specific pore diameter range. The pore distribution is monomodal and the porosity of the material is greater than 80%, conferring aerogel properties thereon while the absence of micropores (pores less than 2 nm in diameter) confers a high thermal stability to these materials. The characteristics of the product, including a low, if not zero, macroporosity, confer on the material a low dustiness compared to conventional aerogels, thus enabling them to be used effectively in production cycles. Based on this knowledge, the Nanoxer s.r.l, a UNITS spin-off has been funded. Nanoxed s.r.l has won the first award of the National Innovation Award 2007.