tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post7461068978162538779..comments2024-03-28T00:14:10.834-07:00Comments on Ben Krasnow: Making silica aerogel at homeBen Krasnowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04234629396863486242noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-72110175443976578992017-05-21T13:35:40.449-07:002017-05-21T13:35:40.449-07:00Hi
can you help me. I am making aerogel from teos....Hi<br />can you help me. I am making aerogel from teos. I am looking from the aerogel.org. but jel didnt occur. teos process is same with aerogel.org ıjust I used ammonium chloride instead ammonium floride. Because I didnt find Ammonium floride. can you give me detail info thanks.Furkan AKPUNARhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06444987259279903697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-8956210670470044792016-02-04T03:39:58.635-08:002016-02-04T03:39:58.635-08:00Hi Ben:
Please give me your thoughts on encasing ...Hi Ben: <br />Please give me your thoughts on encasing a LED in aerogel. Have you tried to mold anything inside a piece? contact me here> <br />garydunn88@aol.com Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-37594777073991616672015-07-05T11:38:50.912-07:002015-07-05T11:38:50.912-07:00Awesome DIY and super cool CNC mill in the backgro...Awesome DIY and super cool CNC mill in the background!<br /><br />Perhaps heat stripping or induction heating the unit when processing the phase change rather than a torch along with as you said rearranging the fill nozzle in the manifold may further prevent crazing and cracking.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110242144222553288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-13102475444978937902013-12-10T18:07:46.039-08:002013-12-10T18:07:46.039-08:00Haffiz, the process takes a few days or a week at ...Haffiz, the process takes a few days or a week at most, but really depends on how large a piece of aerogel that you want to make.Ben Krasnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234629396863486242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-36588543475096550302013-12-09T23:48:09.763-08:002013-12-09T23:48:09.763-08:00how long do you take to actually complete the aero...how long do you take to actually complete the aerogel....please respond as soon as possible..because im intending to make one for my final year project...and i only got 7 weeks to complete the project...is 7 weeks enough to complete the aerogels<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17652629818528758610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-73338209110070743392013-06-22T12:25:12.530-07:002013-06-22T12:25:12.530-07:00James, it is strong enough to support many times i...James, it is strong enough to support many times its own weight.Ben Krasnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234629396863486242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-1900095422537037172013-06-18T06:22:43.548-07:002013-06-18T06:22:43.548-07:00Do you reckon this stuff would be strong enough to...Do you reckon this stuff would be strong enough to use as a surface for putting things on?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11159940854655970637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-69122291715891026682013-04-09T17:30:05.378-07:002013-04-09T17:30:05.378-07:00Hi Ben,
This helped me out enormously, thank you s...Hi Ben,<br />This helped me out enormously, thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate it :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08531732255010549041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-91594356786465767072013-04-09T10:38:13.604-07:002013-04-09T10:38:13.604-07:00Rajvignesh, silica aerogel is just pure SiO2, and ...Rajvignesh, silica aerogel is just pure SiO2, and has all of the same bonds that normal dense SiO2 has, but the structure is expanded with lots of pores and space between the atoms. I'm pretty sure everything that you find regarding bonds in bulk SiO2 would apply to aerogel. There are a lot of different kinds of aerogel, though. Ben Krasnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234629396863486242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-89774823100788723712013-04-09T03:44:12.653-07:002013-04-09T03:44:12.653-07:00Hi Ben,
I look around on the internet and I could...Hi Ben, <br />I look around on the internet and I couldn't find anything on inter or intra molecular forces of aerogel! This is for an assignment, i've spent about an hour looking for something but i've seen nothing of use except your youtube video.<br />So I was just wondering if you could point me in the right direction in regards to Inter and Intra Molecular forces of Aerogel that is dried with carbon dioxide? thank you so much for your time in advance :) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08531732255010549041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-79495257246652645192012-01-15T15:52:34.712-08:002012-01-15T15:52:34.712-08:00h0wkeye, the stuff ends up like "silica gel&q...h0wkeye, the stuff ends up like "silica gel" -- the little beads in those desiccant packets that say "do not eat". It's much more dense than aerogel, but certainly less than any metal and probably most polymers, so it wouldn't qualify as super dense. Tungsten is probably the most economical super dense material, and it also has very high hardness and high-temperature stability.Ben Krasnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234629396863486242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-7846821377082089542012-01-15T13:01:57.327-08:002012-01-15T13:01:57.327-08:00Ben,
At the step before super-critical drying, yo...Ben,<br /><br />At the step before super-critical drying, you mentioned that the structure pulls tightly together (strong intermolecular bonds?) if left to dry out on the table... I'm wondering if there are any good uses for "zero gel". Is this material very brittle and what the harness factor is. I am very interested in a super dense material.h0wkeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08258413568981969281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-37492328115926508952012-01-08T20:06:43.735-08:002012-01-08T20:06:43.735-08:00Anonymous, I did not use sapphire windows. The gl...Anonymous, I did not use sapphire windows. The glass window in my steel chamber came from McMaster (it is a high-pressure, plain "sight glass"). My plastic chamber is built from 1.25" thick acrylic which I also bought from mcmaster.com.Ben Krasnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234629396863486242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-29683557191946503802012-01-08T12:46:24.367-08:002012-01-08T12:46:24.367-08:00Hi Ben,
I would like to ask you where, and at wha...Hi Ben,<br /><br />I would like to ask you where, and at what price,<br />did you get the artificial sapphire window required<br />for the supercritical chamber.<br />I have seen in another video of Nottingam University<br />that a bigger window costs somthing like 3000 pounds Sterling<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBRdBrnIlTQ<br />I can't find the right video but is surely one<br />of the three channels that Nottingam University<br />has on youtube.<br /><br />Thankyou very much in advanceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-88004164100989251382011-11-29T21:08:01.705-08:002011-11-29T21:08:01.705-08:00Using the dust that is created when the aerogels b...Using the dust that is created when the aerogels break, have you tried making a coating that would make a surface hydrophobic? <br /><br />(similar to neverwet.com)Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-54499996186476304592011-11-20T08:20:57.875-08:002011-11-20T08:20:57.875-08:00As of Nov 20, 2011 a 100g bottle of TEOS is availa...As of Nov 20, 2011 a 100g bottle of TEOS is available on e-Bay.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-8261610357850276982011-11-17T02:54:03.173-08:002011-11-17T02:54:03.173-08:00Hi Ben,
Great project and video! Have been wantin...Hi Ben,<br /><br />Great project and video! Have been wanting to try this out myself for a decade now, luckily others seem to get things done faster...<br /><br />Anyway, about the methanol. Have you checked your local RC fuel dealer? Here (Finland) pure methanol for that purpose is about $10 per gallon, which is nowhere near the industrial dirt cheap price, but low enough to become unimportant in a project like this. <br /><br />The general (un)availability of hobby chemicals to individuals was one of the factors that tipped the scales in favor of a university career for me. Sigma Aldrich is my best friend now. :-)Snowcamohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09220466383874024695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-69743678334136685582011-11-16T18:15:53.334-08:002011-11-16T18:15:53.334-08:00How flexible is the finished aerogel? maybe it cou...How flexible is the finished aerogel? maybe it could be made in some kind of spiral container to get sheets of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-13650452751217317022011-11-16T16:27:54.247-08:002011-11-16T16:27:54.247-08:00I knew a guy a couple of years ago who minored in ...I knew a guy a couple of years ago who minored in chemistry in college (in addition to his EE degree) and did home chemistry as a hobby and was always doing cool stuff in his garage. I think he ended up setting up an LLC to run his chemical purchases through. He said he still had some trouble from time to time because it wasn't a 'real' company, but it was much easier than buying as an individual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-87821767434581381792011-11-16T15:33:21.646-08:002011-11-16T15:33:21.646-08:00hi ben excellent video with great documentation! ...hi ben excellent video with great documentation! i've been wanting to play with aerogel for years and this is the best video i've seen so far for creating it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-7507407654446020932011-11-15T13:06:19.409-08:002011-11-15T13:06:19.409-08:00Hi Ben,
Have you considered chemically drying the...Hi Ben,<br /><br />Have you considered chemically drying the methanol in situ? This will increase the reaction rate due to le chatelier's principal (less water in the methanol). Furthermore, you can avoid changing out MeOH the solution so frequently. <br /><br />You can use 3A molecular sieves for this task. When they're water logged, recharge them in the oven. It should be cheaper in the long run.<br /><br />The path of water becomes Gel -> Methanol -> Mol Sieves.<br /><br />Best,<br />-JMJean-Michelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-6013029877728641392011-11-14T21:56:04.231-08:002011-11-14T21:56:04.231-08:00Awesome work. This stuff has been on my "one ...Awesome work. This stuff has been on my "one of these days" projects list for ages (next to YBCO).<br /><br />Incidentally, I'm impressed that you successfully obtained physical product from Sigma-Aldrich (however you did it). They seem to have the strongest anti-DIY leanings of any supplier I've ever attempted to deal with.<br />I know of someone who actually had an S-A rep call up to deliver a stern reprimand and a safety lecture in response to an attempted order. <strong>The guy is a nuclear engineer.</strong>Greg Courvillehttp://www.gregslab.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-35029345959629652262011-11-14T09:00:32.381-08:002011-11-14T09:00:32.381-08:00Hi Ben -
Great work on your aerogels, and your d...Hi Ben - <br /><br />Great work on your aerogels, and your documentation. There are a few tricks you can try to reduce your cracking:<br /><br />1. Fill your dryer all the way full with MeOH prior to pressurization. You'll want to make sure the gels are under liquid when you pressurize. <br /><br />2. Only drain out a percentage of your pressurized MeOH at first (20-30% at a time) with breaks in between before you exchange pure CO2. The co-mingling of the different solvents actually creates a pressure differential within the gel as the pure MeOH tries to escape. This is the biggest "mystery" source of cracking.<br /><br />3. Contrary to intuition, thermal expansion seems NOT to be the source of the cracks formed in aerogels. Rather, the speed of pressurization and depressurization is much more important, as well slowing the initial MeOH/CO2 exchange as described above.<br /><br />Good Luck!Will Walkerhttp://www.aerogel.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-827292421190337012011-11-13T15:56:46.938-08:002011-11-13T15:56:46.938-08:00jstults, most chemical supply houses will not sell...jstults, most chemical supply houses will not sell anything to individuals -- regardless of the hazardous nature of the chemical in question. An accident or misuse of the chemical would result in bad PR and lawsuits, so company executives decided that it is more profitable to forgo the money made from individuals to avoid the risks. This is bad news for home scientists, and it's unlikely to change. The best hope we have is that hackerspaces become well-known enough to order chemicals for their members. I suspect many hackerspaces would currently have trouble ordering from a company like Sigma Aldrich.Ben Krasnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234629396863486242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401164737462963207.post-80853436188931574802011-11-13T15:27:25.543-08:002011-11-13T15:27:25.543-08:00Why are they so hesitant to sell the TMOS to indiv...Why are they so hesitant to sell the TMOS to individuals?Joshua Stultshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506970399027046387noreply@blogger.com