Novel polysiloxane and polycarbosilane aerogels via hydrosilylation of preceramic polymers

Abstract

We report new polysiloxane and polycarbosilane aerogels, which have been obtained by crosslinking Si–H-containing polymers with a CC-containing crosslinker via hydrosilylation reactions. The crosslinking reaction has been carried out in a highly diluted solution using up to 97 vol% of solvent. The obtained aerogels have a colloidal structure with meso- and macropores. Density as low as 0.17 g cm−3 has been reached, which implies a porosity of ca. 84 vol%.