This study investigated new sol-gel methods in the fabrication of Al₂O₃ - SiO₂ composite aerogels. Compared to conventional methods, the Al₂O₃ - SiO₂ composite aerogels were prepared and mixed together. Thermal conductivity of the composite aerogels was measured by an instrument, using a transient plane heat source method....
Aerogels are promising thermal insulators because of their low thermal conductivity, durability and eco-friendly nature. However, aerogels become a problem because of their highly flammable properties. In this study, flame retardant cellulose insulators were formed from scrap pieces of cotton. Firstly, an NaOH/Urea solution was combined with the scrap pieces of cotton to create a nanoporous three-dimensional cellulose gel. This gel will ultimately serve as a template for the ...
Clay aerogels are typically used for insulation, filtration and absorption, and are typically favored because of their eco-friendly nature, low density and high porosity. Unfortunately, these aerogels are limiting due to their relatively high fragility. Researchers in this study aimed to create fracture-free pectin/clay aerogel monoliths. In this process, water was used as the solvent and montmorillonite as the solute. Morphologies, thermal stability and conductivity of the monoliths were ...
Due to their high compressibility and resilience, nanofibrous aerogels (NFAs) have been proven to have positive insluative impacts on various applications with electronics and material damping. Up until this study, the fabrication of such nanofibers had proven to be very difficult. The scientists of this study homogenized nanofibre membranes, PAN/BA-a and SiO2 to create a nanofiber dispersion. This nanofiber dispersion was then freeze-dried to create uncrosslinked NFAs. The NFAs ...
Highly porous aerogels can be employed in a variety of applications; notably for this study, oil/water separation and sound absorption. Because of their poor mechanical functions, aerogels are limited within their array of applications. In this study, researchers set out to improve the mechanical performance of these aerogels. Researchers used thiol-ene chemistry and various alkoxy groups to prepare various novel bridged silsesquioxane (BSQ) precursors. Due to the contrasting hydrolyzing ...
