Effects of freezing conditions on the morphology and mechanical properties of clay and polymer/clay aerogels

Clay aerogels and poly(vinyl alcohol)/clay aerogels were prepared via an environmental friendly freeze‐drying process. Both mechanical properties and microstructures of the clay aerogels and polymer/clay aerogels were correlated to the freezing conditions. The compressive moduli of these materials increased as the freezing temperature used to produce the aerogels was decreased. Scanning electron microscopic observations suggest that the morphological variations of clay aerogels can be explained by the mechanism of ice templating that produced these structures.