Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC

Magi Mettry

Juergen Biener

James S Oakdale

Tyler Martin Fears

A product includes a polymer aerogel. The aerogel is physically characterized by having a transparency greater than or equal to 90% transmission of visible light through a 3 mm thickness of the aerogel. The aerogel includes at least one oligomer selected from the group consisting of: a polyamide, a polyimide, a polyacrylate, a polyvinyl, and a polythioether. A method includes dissolving at least one monomer in at least one solvent to form a mixture and causing polymerization of the at least one monomer to form at least one oligomer. The method also includes causing crosslinking of the at least one oligomer, initiating gelation of a product of the crosslinking and the at least one solvent to form an aerogel precursor; and forming an aerogel from the aerogel precursor.

Transparent polymer aerogels

An optically clear resin for additive manufacturing includes an optically clear ceramic precursor having a pre-defined refractive index. Each molecule of the ceramic precursor has at least two photopolymerizable functional groups, at least one of the photopolymerizable functional groups being functionalized with a refractive index-tuning group thereby causing the ceramic precursor to have the pre-defined refractive index.

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Magi Mettry