Supercritical drying of a gel

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-011593",
  "term": "Supercritical drying of a gel",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "A drying technique that removes solvent from a gel by passing through the critical point of the solvent, thereby avoiding the formation of a liquid-vapor interface. This method prevents the collapse of the gel's porous structure due to capillary forces, which typically occur during conventional evaporative drying. It is used to produce aerogels with high porosity and low density.",
  "subject": "Polymer",
  "see_also": [
    "cracking",
    "gel",
    "shrinkage",
    "supercritical fluid"
  ],
  "references": [
    "PAC, 2007, 79, 1801. 'Definitions of terms relating to the structure and processing of sols, gels, networks, and inorganic-organic hybrid materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2007)' on page 1826 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200779101801)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/supercritical-drying-of-a-gel/"
}