The authors present the synthesis of hollow silica nanospheres (HSNSs) by a template-assisted approach using polystyrene nanospheres as templates. These nanospheres could potentially be used as nano insulation materials due to their low thermal conductivity ~0.02 W/m K. The authors also examined the environmental footprint of these nanospheres by life cycle assessment, and it was found that they possess a high embodied energy. It was thus suggested that new synthetic ...
