Nano-structured sol-gels synthesised under microgravity conditions

本项目旨在利用溶胶-凝胶法研究微重力条件下纳米二氧化硅的形成。在没有重力和相关的自由对流扰动的情况下，我们与NASA进行的初步测试中的溶胶反应显示，与在正常重力条件下进行的测试相比，纳米特性(即分维、孔大小、表面积和孔体积)发生了根本性的重组。这是生产用于线性和非线性光学材料和量子材料等应用的纳米材料的关键科学特征。

This project aims to study the nano-structured silica formation under microgravity conditions using a sol-gel process. In the absence of gravitional forces and associated free convective disturbances, the sol reaction in our preliminary testing with NASA has revealed fundamental reorganisation in nano properties (i.e. fractal dimension, pore size, surface area and pore volume) as compared to tests carried out under normal gravity conditions. This is a key feature of scientific interest for the production of nanomaterials for applications such as linear and non-linear optical materials and quantum materials.