AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Flame Synthesis of Aerosol Gels
RAJAN CHAKRABARTY, Christopher Stipe, Hans Moosmuller, Desert Research Institute
Abstract Number: 538 Working Group: Synthesis of Functional Materials using Flames, Plasmas and other Aerosol Methods
Abstract Aerosol gels have properties similar to conventional aerogels. The name, aerosol gel, is derived from the fact that the material is made via the process of aerosol gelation in a flame, unlike the wet-chemical sol-gel process used for producing conventional aerogels. Flame synthesis is yet to be established as a viable method for production of aerosol gels, owing mainly to the aggregate fragmentation effects associated with buoyancy-driven flickering and shear stress of a diffusion flame’s “tipping” front.
In this talk, we will present our recent findings on the production of carbonaceous aerosol gels using a reversed-gravity diffusion flame system, which is an upside-down burner arrangement. In such a flame system, a “stagnation plane” is formed at its non-tipping end, which eliminates buoyancy-driven flickering and enhances the aggregate residence time within the plane thereby facilitating the formation of gels. Material properties of the carbonaceous aerosol gels will be discussed. The talk will conclude with potential applications of this technique in the energy sector and future research directions of this project.
Reference:
Chakrabarty, R. K., H. Moosmüller, M. A. Garro, and C. B. Stipe (2012). Observation of Superaggregates from a Reversed Gravity Low-Sooting Flame. Aerosol Sci. Tech., 46, i-iii (published as Aerosol Research Letter).