Fluorinated alcohols are claimed to be promising solvents for supercritical drying. A number of metal oxide aerogels (both monoliths and powders) including silica, alumina and zirconia were prepared using hexafluoroisopropyl alcohol. It is shown that the specific surface area of all the aerogels dried in hexafluoroisopropyl alcohol is twice that of the aerogels prepared in ethanol. Surface modification of aerogels with fluorinated organic species is shown to take place upon supercritical drying. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.