Sabine Brück

Gelation of hybrid aerogels in parabolic flights and on the ISS

The projects aims to synthesize new functional hybrid aerogels with nonlinear optical properties by incorporation of nano to micron sized particles of piezo-, ferro-, pyro- or photorefractive character into a transparent matrix composed of a nanostructured silica aerogel. It is expected that either a spatially homogeneous distribution of these particles having sizes from a few nanometers to a few microns can be achieved by gelation under reduced gravity conditions possibly with the additional application of electric fields. The project aims to test in parabolic flights a new facility developed for gelation under reduced gravity conditions and also to prepare first hybrid aerogels