Spontaneous nanostructure formation during supercritical drying and its application for material synthesis

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K05193
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 28010:Nanometer-scale chemistry-related
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Takeshita Satoru 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 材料・化学領域, 主任研究員 (90631705)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 超臨界乾燥 / エアロゲル / キトサン / 小角X線散乱

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Supercritical drying, a drying method using supercritical fluid, has been known as a standard to prepare highly porous aerogels without breaking the skeletal microstructure of wet gels because of lack of liquid-gas interfaces throughout the process. This study has overturned this stereotypical idea of supercritical drying and proved that it can also act as a microstructure formation step. Such microstructure formation is triggered by poor solvent-polymer affinity, leading to a new strategy for microstructure-controlled aerogel processes.

Free Research Field

材料化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

既存の超臨界乾燥の概念を覆すとともに、その微細構造形成のメカニズムの探究を通じて、エアロゲル・多孔質材料の高機能化、とくに緻密で均質なナノ空隙構造を作るための因子を明らかにした。これらの知見は、近い将来に期待される高機能断熱材、吸着材、各種光学素子に必要なポリマーエアロゲル材料の製造プロセス設計指針を提供すると考えられる。