Aerogels are attractive materials for a variety of thermal insulation applications, however, application has been slow because they are fragile and difficult to handle. Therefore, it is desirable to encapsulate or coat aerogel monoliths with a harder skin which does not compromise the bulk properties of the material, but it makes it easy to handle, transport and apply onto the desirable product. The encapsulation may be in the form of metal coating. In cases where metals are undesirable due to corrosion, cost or the difficulty in applying the coating, a paint-on or spray-on coating of polymer may be used. It is well known that aerogels collapse in contact with liquids, so it appears that this has not been attempted. In this invention, we have shown that we can paint-coat aerogel monoliths by various methods using viscous polymer precursors and cure them to films without collapse of the monoliths. This is achieved by (a) controlling the amount of the coating material and/or (b) by curing to a hard layer before the monomeric or oligomeric precursor has time to percolate in the aerogel bulk. These principles have been demonstrated with isocyanates, which are cured by exposure to the moisture in the environment and provide polyurathane/polyurea type coatings, and with commercial epoxy resins. The same principles can be applied to other resins like polyimide precursors for high temperature resistant protective layers, or perfluorinated coatings for increased strength in combination with hydrophobicity, or in combination with composite materials to create aerogels encapsulated in a high strength shell.

This invention describes a series of organic/inorganic hybrid polymers that are easy to fabricate, dimensionally stable films with good ion conductivity at a wide range of temperatures for use in a variety of applications. The polymers are formed by the reaction of a diamine compound with an alkoxysilane. The product of the reaction is then polymerized by hydrolysis and condensation of the alkoxysilane group producing an organic containing silica network. Suitable functionality introduced into the diamine or alkoxysilane groups produces membranes which can conduct ions for fuel cells, high performance solid state batteries, chemical sensors, electrochemical capacitors electro-chromic windows or displays, analog memory devices, etc.

As part of an ongoing effort to incorporate multifunctionality into advanced composites, blends of PETI-330 and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared, characterized and fabricated into moldings. PETI-330 was selected as the matrix resin due to its low melt viscosity (~1 Poise at 280°C), excellent melt stability (>2 hours at 280 °C) and high temperature performance (>1000 hr at 288 °C). Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) from the University of Kentucky were selected as the electrically and thermally conductive additive due to their relatively narrow diameter. The purpose of this work was to determine the combination of thermal, electrical and mechanical properties achievable while still maintaining melt processability.