LAMINATES COMPRISING REINFORCED AEROGEL COMPOSITES

1 . An aerogel composite, comprising:

a base layer having a top surface and a bottom surface, the base layer comprising a reinforced aerogel composition which comprises a reinforcement material and an aerogel framework;

a first facing layer comprising a first facing material attached to the top surface of the base layer; and

a second facing layer comprising a second facing material attached to the bottom surface of the base layer;

wherein the first facing material and the second facing material each consist essentially of a non-fluoropolymeric material having a combination of polyether-polyurea and polyamide.

2 . The aerogel composite as defined in claim 1 , wherein the combination includes 18% of the polyether-polyurea and 82% of the polyamide.

3 . The aerogel composite as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a pressure sensitive adhesive between each of i) the first facing layer and the top surface of the base layer and ii) and the second facing layer and the bottom surface of the base layer.

4 . A method, comprising:

providing a block of a reinforced gel material or a reinforced aerogel;

exposing the block to a lathe-peeling apparatus; and

allowing the lathe-peeling apparatus to remove a continuous sheet of the reinforced gel material or the reinforced aerogel from the block.

5 . The method as defined in claim 4 , wherein the foam reinforced aerogel includes a foam reinforcement material selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin foam, a polyurethane foam, a phenolic foam, a melamine foam, a cellulose acetate foam, and a polystyrene foam.

6 . The method as defined in claim 4 , wherein providing the block of the reinforced gel material involves:

placing, within a container, multiple pieces of a foam reinforcement material;

dispensing a precursor solution, including a gel precursor material and a solvent, into the container, whereby the precursor solution infiltrates the pieces of the foam reinforcement material; and

allowing the gel precursor material in the precursor solution to transition into a gel composition.

7 . The method as defined in claim 6 , wherein after the continuous sheet of the reinforced gel material is removed, the method further comprises extracting at least a portion of the solvent from the continuous sheet of reinforced gel material to obtain a sheet of reinforced aerogel.

8 . The method as defined in claim 4 , wherein providing the block of the reinforced aerogel involves:

placing, within a container, multiple pieces of a foam reinforcement material;

dispensing a precursor solution, including a gel precursor material and a solvent, into the container, whereby the precursor solution infiltrates the pieces of the foam reinforcement material;

allowing the gel precursor material in the precursor solution to transition into a gel composition, thereby forming the block of the reinforced gel material; and

extracting at least a portion of the solvent from the block of the reinforced gel material.

9 . The method as defined in claim 4 wherein a thickness of the continuous sheet of the reinforced gel material or the reinforced aerogel ranges from 2.3 mm to 12.9 mm.

10 . A method, comprising:

generating an aerogel-foam composite;

coating a surface of the aerogel-foam composite with a pressure sensitive adhesive;

placing a non-fluoropolymeric facing layer, including a combination of polyether-polyurea and polyamide, on the pressure sensitive adhesive; and

applying pressure to the non-fluoropolymeric facing layer while the pressure sensitive adhesive dries.

11 . The method as defined in claim 10 , wherein the combination includes 18% of the polyether-polyurea and 82% of the polyamide.

12 . The method as defined in claim 10 , wherein a foam in the aerogel-foam composite is selected from the group consisting of melamine and polyurethane.

13 . The method as defined in claim 10 , wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is an acrylic water-based adhesive.

14 . The method as defined in claim 10 , further comprising allowing the pressure sensitive adhesive to partially dry before placing the non-fluoropolymeric facing layer on the pressure sensitive adhesive.

15 . The method as defined in claim 10 , further comprising:

coating a second surface of the aerogel-foam composite with the pressure sensitive adhesive;

placing a second non-fluoropolymeric facing layer, including a combination of polyether-polyurea and polyamide, on the pressure sensitive adhesive; and

applying pressure to the second non-fluoropolymeric facing layer while the pressure sensitive adhesive dries.