They consist of almost one hundred percent air and are the lightest solids in the world. And this is just one of several entries with which aerogels are listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Since the first aerogel was synthesized in 1931, fascination with this unusual material has remained undiminished.
To exchange information on the latest state of research and applications, around 160 international experts from a total of 24 countries recently gathered at TU Hamburg. Under the leadership of Prof. Irina Smirnova, head of the Institute of Thermal Process Engineering and Vice President for Research at TU Hamburg, the eighth “International Seminar on Aerogels” took place here.
Promising High-Tech Material
The event is one of the most important international conferences on this topic worldwide. This year, after the welcome address by Prof. Smirnova, approximately 50 presentations and 70 posters were held over three conference days in buildings I and A, covering a wide range of areas in aerogel research.
One of the speakers was Dr. Baldur Schroeter, coordinator of the CampusLab Circular Economy. The CampusLab combines interdepartmental expertise and infrastructure around sustainable materials and processes. A future focus will also be on hydrogen technologies—an area of research where carbon aerogels can play an important.
“Aerogels are considered one of the most promising high-tech materials of the future,” explains Schroeter. “And rightly so. What is special about this research field is certainly its diversity. The range of research and application areas is extremely broad – from medicine to thermal insulation to the function of aerogels as catalysts. I think the conference with its many participants reflected this very well. Much is still unexplored regarding what is possible with these materials. That is exactly what makes this field so exciting.”
Schroeter himself gave a lecture on carbon aerogels as a platform for electrocatalysis. His institute colleague Dr. Pavel Gurikov was more fundamental in his keynote. In his talk, he discussed how aerogel research must critically examine and further develop its experiments, measurement methods, and data to sensibly utilize new technologies such as AI and automated laboratories.
When Aerogels Become Art
Insights from industry were also on the agenda. For example, Dr. Marc Fricke from the company aerogel-it—which was founded by a team including TU Hamburg employees—spoke about decarbonizing industry through sustainable high-performance insulation. Representatives from IBIH Advanced Materials from Henan (China) traveled a long way to attend. They presented their work in the lecture hall and at a booth, focusing on mass production of aerogel materials. Specifically, they addressed structural optimization and multifunctional applications in the areas of thermal management, agriculture, and medicine.
Between and after the lectures, participants had many opportunities for personal exchange and direct conversation. This was also the case in building A, where a small art exhibition on the topic of aerogels was presented. Anyone who has seen a designer handbag made from this highly porous material knows: with aerogels, practically anything is possible.
