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 ...
Author(s): H. Wu, Q. Chen, Y. Lua
Silica aerogels (SA) are identified as one of the most advanced thermal insulating materials to date, however, their range of applications is limited due to a high sensitivity to moisture and issues with brittleness. This study highlights the design and fabrication of a new and improved thermal insulation material, robust flexible hybrid silica nanofiber (SNF)-SA membranes. To allow for higher thermal insulating characteristics, these membranes form an interpenetrating network ...
Author(s): Bin Ding, Haoru Shan, Hongxia Zheng, Jianyong Yu, Lifang Liu, Xianfeng Wang, Ying Bai
Multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and carbonized resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin were used to create a conducting aerogel with a high electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient but a low thermal conductivity. The addition of the MWCNTs caused the figure of merit (ZT) for the aerogel to increase by two orders of magnitude. The researchers determined that it was possibly to control the electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient independently of ...
Author(s): Aiping Zhang, Jinghong Zhao, Jinrong Wu, Lijuan Zhao, Quan Li, Xijing Sun
In this research silica aerogels were incorporated into PVC fabrics by the research team to improve the overall performance of the fabrics. The aerogel was added in percent fractions of 0, 2, 3, and 4%. Comprehensive analysis of physical and mechanical properties was also performed. Thermal conductivity measurements revealed that the addition of the silica aerogel had reduced the thermal conductivity of the fabric; when 4% silica was added, the thermal conductivity dropped by 26%. As ...
Author(s): Dan Ckesson, Mikael Skrifvars, Mohammad J. Taherzadeh, Mostafa Jabbari
Ambient pressure dried hydrophobic silica aerogel monoliths were prepared via simultaneous solvent exchange and surface modification in order to minimize volume shrinkage and density. At room temperature, the obtained silica aerogels had a low density of 0.096 g/cm3, a high surface area and hydrophobicity, and a low thermal conductivity of 0.0217 W/m·K. The effect of heating on these properties was also determined. After the aerogel had been heated to 300...
Author(s): Ai Du, Bin Zhou, Guangming Wu, Guangwu Liu, Guoqing Zu, Jun Shen, Xing Yuan Ni, Xingyuan Ni
