PREPARATION OF V2O5 AEROGELS AND AEROGEL COATINGS

Monolithic aerogels and aerogel coatings of hydrated V2O5, containing up to 10 mol% GeO2, were prepared from metal alkoxides by hydrolysis and autoclave drying. The porosity of the monolithic aerogels was > 90%. The aerogels consisted of microfibrous V2O5 Polymer. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the aerogels was different from that of crystalline V2O5. Microhardness of the aerogels increased with addition of GeO2. DC conductivity of the bulk aerogels was about one order of magnitude lower than that of the bulk xerogels. Dip-coated V2O5 gel coatings were dried supercritically. The refractive index of the aerogel coatings were < 1.4 and much lower than that of the xerogel coatings. The porosity of the aerogel coatings was estimated to be about 50%.