Making silica aerogel at home

I followed instructions in the silica TMOS recipe from www.aerogel.org and successfully produced some small pieces of aerogel in my home shop.
The two main difficulties are: 1. Getting TMOS or TEOS (the key chemical ingredient), and 2. Building a supercritical drying chamber. The components for the chamber can be bought from www.mcmaster.com or another source of industrial pipe fittings. You'll also need a supply of liquid carbon dioxide. I used a 20-lbs cylinder, which I bought from a local welding store. Most of the cost is in the cylinder itself, since a refill costs only $20 to $30. You may find a welding supply shop that will rent the cylinder.
Getting the TMOS is difficult since chemical suppliers are generally unwilling to sell to individuals.
The process to make aerogel is:
1. Mix TMOS, methanol, and ammonium hydroxide. Pour this mixture into molds, and wait for a gel to form.
2. Submerge the gel in methanol, and wait a day for the remaining water in the gel to diffuse into the methanol.
3. Discard the methanol, and replace with fresh methanol. Wait a day, and repeat. Repeat this process a few times over three days.
4. Transfer the gel into the supercritical drying chamber, and fill the chamber with methanol.
5. Add liquid CO2, then open the chamber's bottom valve to remove the methanol. Make sure the gels are always covered with liquid CO2.
6. Wait a day for methanol to diffuse into the liquid CO2.
7. Open the bottom valve and remove more methanol.
8. Repeat the methanol draining procedure while making sure the gels stay submerged in liquid CO2. Repeat the CO2 draining/exchange a couple times over 2-3 days.
9. Raise the chamber temperature to cause the CO2 to become supercritical. Slowly vent the chamber while applying heat to ensure the CO2 moves from the supercritical phase to the gas phase. Continue venting the chamber slowly, then remove the finished aerogels.

[@StevePelcz]

Dude just invited half a million people to come over and make aerogel at his shop, what a baller.

[@artonline01]

Wonder if he has any left?

[@Bert0ld0]

yei! Let's do this

[@li2323003]

@@artonline01 You kidding? He home built an SEM.

[@artonline01]

bunsenburner I'm kidding

[@li2323003]

@@artonline01 So was I :)

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

Even though this guy does not taste his chemicals as often as Cody does, he's still pretty interesting to watch.

[@thatrandomperson1562]

XD

[@yesterman]

My home doesn't look like that at all.

[@meridianherschel1618]

yesterman You are not sciencing hard enough then.

[@kuntosjedebil]

+yesterman I imagine Ben's mom walking around in his shop and uttering "this is why we can't have nice things".

[@Kabodanki]

"get out of my room, I'm playing minecraft"

[@samisgaming42]

What did you think it would look like ITS a scientist house lol

[@feronicastylinson1392]

Me too

[@Niles_Champagin]

i think your definition of "at home" is slightly skewed

[@seigeengine]

He's at home?

[@nobodyknows9812]

Dont confuse "at home " with simple... these isnt a hot pocket hes cooking up here

[@lmeza1983]

he is at home, but happens to be that he has an independent home base lab and workshop, so its accurate.

[@jakeguard9099]

😂

[@cattybound2011]

@@lmeza1983 it would be more accurate if he had named the video, "How I made aerogel at my home"...

[@billsmathers7787]

Not sure if you're still checking comments on this video, but there's actually a semi-OTC method to make tetraethyl orthosilicate at home, which should substitute well for the tetramethyl used here. To do this, first prepare silicon tetrachloride by passing dry chlorine gas past some silicon in a heated tube. This reaction is extremely dangerous due to the large amounts of toxic corrosive chlorine required, but there are videos of the synthesis in youtube. One the silicon tetrachloride is made, purify it by passing it through a cotton filter and add it to excess anhydrous ethanol SLOWLY. The reaction is extremely violent due to flash boiling of the solvent. Once all the silicon tetrachloride is added, distill off the residual ethanol and what remains is tetraethyl orthosilicate, pure enough for aerogel.

[@spookywizard4980]

Bill Smathers if you survive...lolz

[@thomasachee463]

"By passing dry chlorine gas over silicon in a heated tube" that sounds like hell to get set up.

[@carjaroo]

Jordan Schlansky would be proud of your comment

[@thatrandomperson1562]

i think nileRed or someone made a vid on something like that(making sillicon tetrachloride)

[@pixels303at-odysee9]

Surprised someone hasn't deleted your post with a copyright notice. Corporations hate technology being taught freely.

[@caspernyholmlarsen]

>making silica aerogel at home >you need tetramethyl orthosilicate and a super critical drying champer Pick one

[@daywalker3641]

Well he picked both.

[@noreason2701]

>trying to greentext on youtube What are you, 14?

[@dootthankmrskeltal3398]

Casper Fogh Larsen this isnt 4chan so that you can just use greentext like it's the colonial times lmmfaoo

[@seigeengine]

What, you don't have obscure chemicals and technical apparatus at home?

[@bashisobsolete.pythonismyn6321]

will Amazon ship combustium trioxide to my abandoned funfair on coney island?

[@protonus]

I never fully understood the production of aerogel until this video. Thank you for explaining this in a way I could grasp fully.

[@cyrex686]

I had my doubts when you first talked about doing this, but wow it's amazing what an individual can pull off. I've only seen areogel once, at an art exhibit, it was a nice big chunk of it too. It really does look exactly like smoke.

[@shafransky93]

one thing that may help against cracking. I believe you were right about the large almost instantaneous change in temperature being the cause for cracking. that being said, as opposed to wrapping the aerogel in foil, which will still allow the fluid to come in direct contact with a warmer body. I was thinking if you slowly cooled the gel prior to putting it in the chamber by putting the methanol bath in either a ice bath, or even just putting it in the freezer for a day prior to the supercritical phase. i belive this should help prevent cracking more so than just putting some foil around it.

[@eddiebernays514]

this guy reminds me a smarter more sane version of codys lab

[@JerkCircles]

exactly

[@rihardsrozans6920]

I think he looks a lot like Cody, just older.

[@VER1AMusic]

i think cody's lab is also smart and sane. they are both awesome channels

[@eddiebernays514]

John P I said a smarter and saner version. Cody is very smart, but, AS seems much more intelligent. And Cody seems a bit off, like he lost a couple marbles.

[@jcthefluteman]

Props for your username Cuntington I don't think it's worth judging them against each other. Cody shows how it's possible to do things with a bare minimum of equipment, and I feel like people come to AS to see how to do things the way lab professionals would do it.

[@Cnctrldotcom]

Great video, I've fancied having a go at making areogel for a while. I don't want to sound like a health and safety freak but a gas mask doesn't offer sufficient protection. Moisture in the air and your breath will rapidly deactivate the filter rendering it useless at stopping chemicals. Why don't you build yourself a fumehood and vent it out one of the windows? A sheet of perspex a a couple of sheets of ply is all you'd need.

[@Badgalreid]

Hello , do you know how to make a mass products of aerogel ?

[@TheHeartsablaze]

This was very interesting. Being a simple crafter, I can only imagine all the uses this stuff could have. Thanks for sharing!

[@realvanman]

Wow, I hadn't realized how involved it is to make aerogel. It looks like my dreams of insulating my bus conversion with are dashed LOL!

[@IgnemFeram01]

I was thinking about making some at my home to help insulate my sun room (it gets cold in the winter and wreaks havoc on the electric bill) but now I see it would be cheaper just to buy a door because I don't have the equipment, chemicals, money, or know-how to make it. Cool video though.

[@NatureHacker]

good luck buying enough to insulate a room it will cost millions

[@raykent3211]

triple glazing instead?

[@deanpatterson9036]

@IgnemFeram Thicker jacket and a furry hat!

[@johnwortherly4592]

ya, the good ole days of giving technology to the people are over. to do anything now, you will be heavily controlled in your potential. the american way is gone.

[@theodorekorehonen]

@@johnwortherly4592 what are you even talking about?

[@edwardpadilla7543]

You definitely have a passion for chemistry. Nice job.

[@ichwillnurkommentierennixw7495]

Hey man, I´m just preparing a short scientific lecture about aero gels and your video gave an nice look about howto produce them without industrial ressources. Thanks for it.

[@Flopsaurus]

You're a very good teacher.

[@MatthewLe458]

Instead of drying the gel by replacing the methanol have you considered adding a drying agent to it such a silica gel or anhydrous magnesium sulfate to essentially trap the water as it diffuses out of the gel into the methanol, then instead of changing it every day or so just leave it in the 1 container for a few days in the same methanol + drying agent bath.

[@garbleduser]

I was thinking the same thing, but with molecular sieves.

[@JohnBBolt]

Dessicated molecular sieves would be an excellent drying solution at that stage, and the seives could be regenerated and reused. Would save methanol also.

[@jossi166]

Awesome video. It is just amazing to see what you are able to accomplish in your workshop!!

[@Piidsan]

I love the fact that you felt the need to explain what baking paper is! :D

[@Larwood.]

TMOS is hard to get because it's very dangerous in untrained or malicious hands. Even a small amount of the vapor getting in your eye will cause blindness.

[@bloodyricho1]

Drinking beer will cure the blinding effects of methanol poisoning.

[@markzockerzwerg8997]

@@bloodyricho1 Good luck with that 5% Ethanol that is in beer.

[@bloodyricho1]

I'm Australian I'm sure that I can drink enough 😂

[@Sharpless2]

if vodka would cure the blinding effects, does that mean you could bomb russia (not that you would want to...) with that stuff and it would have no effect on the majority of population?

[@evanwatling3897]

Dead Meme Well since their blood is 75% straight vodka, yes.

[@lmeza1983]

you are the ultimate DIY guru, respect. By the way I just played subnautica and thought aerogel and magnetite were completely fictional hahaha ( in game to produce it you need Hydrofluoric acid + gold).

[@refa42]

I'm glad that you checked out the aerogel (d) org tip, looks like you are having great fun making aerogel. Great results too. Congratulations!

[@mainemoose77]

During the water extraction phase perhaps you could use a desicant like CaO, CaO3, or silica gel to the dry gas instead of changing it out just sprinkle a little more in over time. The desicant can be regenerated with heat (lots for CaO, CaO3), silica jell can ge cooked out in an oven.

[@sonoancoralbar]

what you think about to make a phosphorescent areogel powered by uv led?pretty the same idea as phospors COB LEDS

[@fuckednegativemind]

Very nice! Does it have heat insulation properties like commercial aerogel?

[@adamwishneusky]

The stuff you do at HOME blows my mind

[@Si-Al-Ti]

i just realized that when i saw your clip on supercritical co2 back '11 or '12 i never heard of the stuff so i searched on youtube for other videos on it and thats how i found periodic videos channel. youtube is great!

[@joeestes8114]

Great video! thanks for sharing!

[@pomponi0]

How to make aerogel at home. Step one: Get a chemical that isn't sold to individuals.

[@cnc-ua]

Next video should be - how to get that chemical from accessible by individuals

[@fuck8you8tube1]

I'm in Chem 101 and I love you're videos. I think I'm going to show my teacher you're channel.

[@evil17]

Amazing stuff, you are a real life Gyro Gearloose, thanks for sharing.

[@Seviexe]

You're on a good way to making a spacecraft at home :)

[@zeekjones1]

What about a partial vacuum for drying? Enough to counter the collapse into the xerogel.

[@zeekjones1]

Xerogel is correct, it's the collapsed more solid, less airy version.

[@coolbionicle]

Then the boiling action of the methanol would most likely break the gel. The supercritical step is to avoid those movements by rising the temperature in the sealed chamber until the meniscus vanishes then slowly drop the pressure while keeping the temperature above boiling point until 1 atm has been reached. A smooth transition from liquid to gas has been achieved without violent boiling or surface tension pulling.

[@bodiddly12]

Your videos are an education.Thank you so much for sharing your projects with us. You could avoid the multiple methanol changes by adding some anhydrous aluminum chloride granules to the Ethanol. These would lock up all the water that emerges from the gel. Best regards, David Kane.

[@SlaveToMyStomach]

I'm usually meandering around youtube looking at the woodworking and other DIY channels and randomly came across this video. This video was great, well produced and informative, even if I never make aerogel. I "liked" the video and, though I have no idea what the other videos on this channel are like, I have subscribed. I happy to see intelligent, and informative 'science' videos that not are not not aimed at the 18-25 year old males (think loud, 'hey watch this' types) but towards a broader audience. This country has plenty of sports related opportunities for children (of all ages) that may grow up dreaming of being a hoop star but end up working at Mc D's, there should be more community based opportunities (in and out of a school environment) for kids of all ages to do more science. The Maker Movement may be a start. Thanks for this video and now off to view the rest of this channel and hope my expectations are not dashed.

[@Migueldeservantes]

May I ask what are the most important uses of aerogel??

[@contractki11er]

It's a great insulator and super light weight, I guess it's used a lot with NASA. Also great as filter media and absorbing chemicals.

[@Migueldeservantes]

Thank you very much for your prompt reply.

[@blueelectricfusion]

did you try freeze drying the gel?

[@johnqpublic2718]

I got to play with some aerogel in highschool back in 2003. A research physicist at OU brought it by. He also brought some metal wire that had true shape memory that could be reset by a quick dunk in room temp. distilled water.

[@BeeBait]

To think we can freeze dry some solution at home and make a flexible aerogel at home without fuss these days so fast and easily... These videos make me happy to see how we have advanced by so much compared to the effort that had to be tackled back then.

[@gerardov.9716]

Why is TMOS so guarded? Does it have explosive capabilities or something?

[@VinOnline]

What is TMOS?

[@gerardov.9716]

Tetramethyl orthosilicate. Sometimes called TMOS.

[@ashiii7041]

It produces methanol which can cause lung lesions and blindness

[@matthewcorderou1674]

Well, methanol can be extracted from wood aswell

[@ashiii7041]

@@matthewcorderou1674 yeah that stuff is dangerous aswell it is in smaller volumes though

[@lorez201]

One way you can make tetramethoxysilane at home is by reacting silicon tetrachloride with methanol.

[@Badgalreid]

Hello do you know how to make aerogel for cheap

[@sixstringedwithabowl]

What did you expect? This guy did a freaking fantastic job explaining this. I know I don't have a lab at home, but this seems simple enough.

[@ga5712]

could you use the principles from your video "how to chemically strengthen glass" to improve aerogel strength?

[@emanuelbucsa2959]

Step 3 seems to take quite a while. I would try using a soxhlet extractor during this step. That way you can "wash" the sample with fresh, almost pure methanol and it would basically be the same as dipping the thing and letting it sit over the course of a few days. Also, you won't need to constantly change the solvent, due to the working principle of the soxhlet extractor. Be sure to check it out. :)

[@stamasd8500]

That is actually not a bad idea because methanol and water don't form an azeotrope.

[@Killswitch8082]

That's your home shop??? That's not fair...

[@holdmybeer]

This was a great video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@thorargent]

To get around the cracking issue, it might make sense to insulate and refrigerate the chamber first. You could even do that with a dry ice and alcohol bath without too much trouble. Once the gel is cooled, it will no longer undergo any thermal expansion or contraction of a significant scale. Then the addition of liquid CO2 will very likely not cause the cracking to happen. Just a thought.

[@jobocoolneleh]

notes : METH 0:23

[@jyterliper]

He did say he is working on getting his quality better! Freaking hizenburg!

[@sfumato9694]

jordan foster *Ahem!* Hisenberg

[@deathwishvip]

Волынщик*Ahem!* Heisenberg.

[@sfumato9694]

Alex Hudson Wow. I can't believe I actually spelled that wrong. That is... hilarious.

[@Moradtumah]

Methanol

[@IPRAstrong]

lmfao dood the first five seconds of the video i thought "breaking bad" then i saw youre comment

[@user-nh5hk6ej7e]

Hey! I’m just wondering, we’re you verified when you made this comment, or were you just a normal user?

[@inventorable]

Thanks for a great video Ben. Great job well done.

[@punishedexistence]

That was pretty cool! I found that diesel truck brake line antifreeze contains 100% methanol with no additives, I tried by evaporating some on a mirror and nothing at all remained after evaporation. It's cheap too, about 20 dollars a gallon. I've used it in many extractions of volatile oils and never had a problem. As for the TMOS, we had some in college, I remember we had to be VERY careful with it because on contact with anything moist it hydrolyses, producing SiO2, like in eyes or lungs.

[@Shankovich]

First 2 seconds of video. See all those bottles and chemicals. Instantly going to get arrested if I try this.

[@utkuberkman8697]

Shankovich did you

[@vapenation7061]

Shankovich nah, owning most chemicals isn’t illegal.

[@OOZ662]

"Hey there, neighbor, can I borrow a cup of tetramethyl orthosilicate?"

[@AppliedScience]

Aerogel is mostly commonly made from silica, which would require the chemicals. There are other aerogels -- check out the recipes section at aerogel dot org. I've made freeze-dried Jello (search my videos), but it might also be possible to supercriticallly dry it, and get a much finer bubble structure.

[@mythicalcandyfactory]

This is exactly what I was curious about. We have a vacuum chamber and multiple freeze driers, I wonder how close we could get

[@thenomadrhodes]

Holy crap this guy is awesome. How on earth do you get so damn talented and smart.

[@ThePaintballgun]

Should have had goggles on my friend.

[@thecelestialstarship]

Don't Even Bother Yeah, because Safety is number 1 priority

[@parkerraines921]

Dylan McDonald EliteSwiper - Gaming and more! **prorty

[@mfx1]

For TMOS you need a full face respirator which he had. A fume cupboard would be better.

[@luyangliu324]

At 0:30 you can see the word METH on the top right hand corner

[@charliebrewis1158]

It says METHANOL

[@renakunisaki]

There are a lot of chemicals that start with "meth" that have nothing to do with drugs.

[@tusharchandra9600]

Cool. It would be great if you could upload a video showing if the aerogel you have been able to make actually has the super insulating properties.

[@gruobn7482]

Nice video. I really like your process.

[@Yank0907]

At the beginning at the top right, his note is cut off but it says Meth hahaha......ok Heisenburg

[@i3e5l4]

Breaking Bad

[@improviseadaptovercome5651]

Thats fkn hilarious

[@improviseadaptovercome5651]

Hez made white arogel. It's his signature from the blue stuff. Like walters blue meth

[@gizmoffm]

0:30

[@GoodTunesFtw]

I think it has been used for capturing comet dust on a space probe. It is also a good insulator.

[@Mr3344555]

You're waaaaaay ahead of the curve

[@dronexfun8469]

I wish I was smart.

[@rogueanuerz]

no

[@pearljameric]

Okay Walter White.. ;)

[@FutureAIDev2015]

I bet you're referring to the "methanol" sticky note...

[@FutureAIDev2015]

***** XD

[@alcapone5791]

Methanol is a type of toxic alcohol. Methylamine (P2P) is what Walter White used to synthesize methamphetamine

[@johnathancorgan3994]

Methylamine not P2P; it is one of the precursors, along *with* P2P, that goes into the method WW used.

[@markoni2536]

@@johnathancorgan3994 ww used nh3 and litium or sodium.

[@pablo1588]

You, Sir, would be an excellent Chemical Engineer, Thanks for this great video !

[@infinite_dynamics]

Do you think this aerogel might be useful in sound deadening applications where light weight is of high importance, like in headphones, in ear monitors, etc. Do you think it would reduce unwanted vibrations when mounted to a frame?

[@kimeryn7837]

2:05 Are you my mummy?

[@MCNarret]

XD

[@josugambee3701]

Stole the words right out of my mouth.

[@MrRawr2013]

LOL dr who ftw

[@janeckert7659]

Notes: Meth...

[@TheZombieSaints]

That's awesome mate! Maybe you could distill the heet through a condenser so you can get the other crap out. Just a thought.

[@FhtagnCthulhu]

I have watched a bunch of your videos, but this one has inspired me, I am definitely trying this at home. Its a shame chemicals are so restricted, even those not connected to various nefarious practices. It really discourages home-scientific experimentation from those not friends with a professional scientist or professor.

[@nickbyrwa9188]

Sticky note says meth

[@alexrovin2821]

meth lab in desgise

[@Odin50Cal]

Not everyone is a degenerate junkie.

[@perfectsorbsales9258]

"Disgise" LOL Guess you are end user of it aren't ya?

[@doantran2410]

There’s always a meth comment no matter what science channel.

[@lmeza1983]

not everyone is that stupid.

[@stormweiner3666]

do you think this process would work with hydrated polyacrylamide?

[@ZoeyR86]

Chill the chamber before filling try just hosing it down. I have thinking of trying this as well i might build my chamber inside a modified dewar, and leave my ln2 generator setup running above it keeping the chamber walls super critical at all time basically a pipe braised through the side of a dewar with a cap and a stainless steel shelf inside.

[@sammy5576]

I you ever make a follow up video. I am extremely curious to see what would happen if you use normal desert jelly / jello

[@johnjones3873]

is there anyway you can revisit this I'm very interested to see how you can improve the method

[@WiZeR911]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[@jimmer1470]

have you considered freezing the sample and then adding it to the chamber? It might be possible to freeze the gel in liquid nitrogen and then add it as a solid to avoid cracking.

[@jimparsons6803]

Slick. If I'm not mistaken, an exercise in physical chemistry. I've heard that silica aerogels are being looked into for very efficient thermal insulation for houses and other buildings.

[@rogerlimoseth4790]

Saftey gear? I haven't suffered any drain bammage from fume inhalation.

[@cr4zyw3ld3r]

Is there an updated video on making them a bit more solid/less cracked?

[@williamsquires3070]

Instead of exchanging the solvent, could you use molecular seives, as seen on the NurdRage channel (and others)? Also, maybe you could cool the product in the freezer before putting it in the drying chamber, that may reduce the thermal stresses.

[@jhyland87]

Nice man! Amazing job.

[@ThatJennings]

You're rad. Thanks for sharing this!

[@bbrockert]

I know this is a quite old video, but I'm wondering if you could make the water removal step easier (if possibly slower) by just putting the gel in methanol with molecular sieves or some other drying agent. A paper I just found says that 3 A molecular sieves at 20% m/v did the best, bringing the solvent down to 4 ppm water, which is likely much better than anything you can get exchanging solvent baths in air.

[@rlt94]

The wet stage of the aerogel looks delicious.

[@gristlevonraben]

Sir, have you ever experimented on aerogel to see if it is a good medium for plate capacitors?

[@meagain2222]

Methanol can be bought cheaply at a good paint supply store. I up to 1 gallon containers.

[@Skipperj]

Awesome lab project. Would a vacuum help to boil off unwanted liquids from the aerogel?

[@chouaibsam4381]

hey what if you made metal alloys that would have interesting properties, depending on their temperature, also if you can make alloys that can be cast on a mold with a hydraulic press . thank you for the awesome channel

[@povnw8985]

It's a beautiful color.

[@LinXiaoChaun]

Kudos! You da man! (Um, person.) I could hang out here all day---and night.

[@scottt3269]

Why are there so many comments from people who think the title implies that you can make this at YOUR home. This is HIS home. The title isn't "how to make aerogel at any home" it's "making aerogel at home." He very clearly did exactly what the title said. Also, he clearly explained the challenges with finding one of the chemicals AND he has another video explaining how to make the supercritical drying chamber. For fuckssake, most of y'all complaining probably can't even distill some water if you had to.

[@TeosAntagonian]

You use Teos for mems application too. Maybe you find from that niche a better buying option.

[@mehdish3]

Can you pour the mixture on, lets say a blanket, and let it mix in, to make it temperature proof like on the veritasium video ? Or how can you mix/ infuse the aerogel with another materiel

[@Synnerization]

The are hydrophillic beads used in the manufacture of pure ethanol for biodiesel. You might be able to use something like that to cut down on some of the waste you generate. The drawback would be that in order to recharge them you have to bake them in an electric oven. If you have anything nasty in the beads it will come out as a gas.

[@RanmaKei]

How big can you make a supercritical dryer? What is the required demensions and pressure?

[@yorinagak]

Could you pre-cool the gel+methanol mixture before applying the liquid CO_2 ?