Enhanced self-diffusion of adsorbed methanol in silica aerogel

Molecular transport of a two-component system of liquid and vapor in a porous medium can be anomalously increased owing to fast exchange between the two phases [Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 43 (1989)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.63.43]. We have investigated this phenomenon measuring the self-diffusion coefficient of methanol adsorbed in a 98% porosity aerogel using nuclear magnetic resonance field gradient techniques. We found enhancement of several orders of magnitude from which we determined the ballistic mean-free path in the vapor phase. We have grown globally uniform anisotropic aerogels and applied the diffusion measurements to characterize the anisotropy. Our results are important for understanding the novel properties of superfluid He3 confined within an aerogel framework and for application to other physical systems.