US Patent Issued to Virginia Commonwealth University on May 6 for "Fabrication of aerogels and aerogel composites by ambient pressure sublimation of frozen solvents" (Virginia Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,291,621, issued on May 6, was assigned to Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Va.).

"Fabrication of aerogels and aerogel composites by ambient pressure sublimation of frozen solvents" was invented by Massimo Bertino (Glen Allen, Va.) and Tyler Selden (Richmond, Va.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Drying polar solvents which do not form hydrogen bonds with a wet gel or aerogel, or eutectics or solvent mixtures with the drying solvents, are utilized in a solvent exchange with wet gels used in the formation of aerogels. Preferably the drying solvents are non-polar solvents. The drying solvent or solvent mixtures results in profoundly...