TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The inorganic gel precursor comprises additive(s) chosen from compounds including metal, semimetal, metalloid or semiconductor, inorganic salts, acid scavengers, epoxy-containing compounds, urea, organometallic compounds, and alkoxides of metals, semi-metals, metalloids, and/or semiconductors. The inorganic wet gel comprises additive(s) chosen from oxide, hydroxide, alkoxide, oxohydroxide, oxoalkoxide, oxo salt, or oxo salt hydrate of metal, semi-metal, metalloid, or semiconductor which acts as a solid acid catalyst or solid base catalyst for the organic polymer network.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Conditions: The composite material is treated (128) to form porous composite material. The composite material is treated to remove at least some of the inorganic network component from the composite material, to yield a porous polymer or a porous polymer composite. The composite material is treated by etching out the inorganic network component with an acid or base, and dissolving or decomposing the inorganic network component. The composite material is heated with a sufficient amount of oxygen to remove the organic polymer network, to yield a porous material comprising a porous metal oxide free from the organic polymer network. The composite material is heated in a limited oxygen environment to form a porous composite comprising a metal oxide and carbon. The porous composite is heated with a sufficient amount of oxygen to remove at least some of the carbon, to yield a porous material comprising a porous metal oxide. The porous metal oxide is conducting or semiconducting. The porous metal oxide is a transparent conducting oxide. The porous composite is treated to remove the metal oxide, to yield a porous carbon or porous carbon composite free from the metal oxide. The porous composite is treated to etch out the metal oxide with an acid or a base, and the metal oxide is dissolved or decomposed. A component is removed (130) from the porous composite material, porous polymer or porous polymer composite, porous metal oxide, porous composite, or porous metal oxide, respectively, to form another material, and/or the porous composite material, porous polymer or porous polymer composite, porous carbon, porous carbon composite, porous metal oxide, porous composite, or porous metal oxide, respectively, is used as reactant or component to form (132) a new material. The precursor solution is heated to 50 degrees C or less. The inorganic wet gel is treated at a temperature higher than the temperature employed for treating the precursor solution and/or heating the inorganic wet gel to a temperature greater than 50 degrees C. The organic polymer gel precursors are polymerized to form the organic polymer network in the presence of an acid, a base, an oxidizing agent, a reducing agent, and/or a base, the organic polymer gel precursors are polymerized to form the organic polymer network by thermal polymerization, radical polymerization, photocatalytic polymerization, and/or thermobaric polymerization, and/or the organic polymer precursors are polymerized to form the organic polymer network with microwave radiation. Preferred Components: The precursor solution comprises additive(s) chosen from fibers, woven fibers, particles, carbon veils, carbon fibers, viscosity modifiers, polymers, and additional porous materials. The organic polymer gel precursor comprises additive(s) chosen from carbon-containing compounds, resorcinol, formaldehyde, phenol, polymerizable carbon-containing compounds, hydroxy-substituted benzene, urea, diamine, sugar, furfuryl alcohol, cellulose, and mesophase pitch.