Supercritical dryi
Supercritical drying
Supercritical drying is a method of removing solvent without surface tension effects. As a liquid dries, the surface tension drags on small structures within a solid, causing distortion and shrinkage. Under supercritical conditions there is no surface tension, and the supercritical fluid can be removed without distortion. Supercritical drying is used for manufacture of aerogels and drying of delicate materials such as archeological samples and biological samples for electron microscopy.