ABSTRACT
Silica aerogels are characterized by a distribution of SSCs. In fact, the aerogel network has a structure very close to the silica skeleton in the gel before drying. This structure, in turn, was a quasi-equilibrium configuration for the system containing the solvent and is manifestly far from equilibrium when the solvent is suddenly removed. A way to restore, at least partially, equilibrium is via straining of the cycles forming the Si02 network. Silica aerogel is expected to manifest a reactivity similar to that identified by Radtsig et a!. for the SSC.
