Hydrophobic ambient pressure drying aerogels were prepared from surfactant-modified silica gels.
A mixture of hexamethyldisiloxane and trimethylchlorosilane was used as silylating agent.
Silytation and ambient pressure drying modified the mass-fractal structure of the wet gels.
The silica particles in the aerogels exhibited interfacial diffuse-boundary and internal inhomogeneity.