In this work the effect of the drying methods applied during the synthesis processes on the micro- and mesoporosity of carbon aerogels and xerogels has been studied. The microporosity development does not depend on the drying processes carried out on their corresponding organic gels. On the contrary, the mesoporous structure was affected by the applied drying method. Treatments with previous exchange of water per acetone partially prevented the mesoporosity collapse. Nevertheless, the xerogels obtained after microwave or plasmas treatments were chemically and texturally very similar to a classical thermally dried xerogel, but with the important advantage that these treatments can be carried out in very short period of times. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.