The present disclosure provides a method of producing a aerogel comprising of reacting first monomer with a second monomer in a reaction solvent to form a composition comprising a precursor polymer; forming a gel; conducting a solvent exchange process on the gel such that the resulting gel comprises an exchange solvent that has a freezing point; cooling the gel to a temperature below the freezing point of the exchange solvent; and subjecting the cooled gel to vacuum conditions to obtain the aerogel.