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°...
Aerogels are ultra-light, insulative, porous materials that have a wide variety of applications. The aim of this study was to synthesize resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) cross-linked silica aerogels in one pot by acid catalysis. A thermal constant analyzer measured the thermal conductivity of the RF/SiO2 aerogels using the transient plane source (TPS) method. Results showed that although the RF/SiO2 aerogels had a lower density, their thermal conductivities resembled those ...
