Formation of Polycyanoacrylate−Silica Nanocomposites by Chemical Vapor Deposition of Cyanoacrylates on Aerogels

Here, we report the first CVD reinforcement of silica aerogels using cyanoacrylates to create a silica-polycyanoacrylate nanocomposite. Deposition is fast and homogeneous through monolithic aerogels. The nanocomposite results in a 32× improvement over native silica aerogels while not diminishing the aerogels attractive physical properties.