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Silica Aerogel Research and Application

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Aerogel is the name of a Nano-scale solid material made by the Sol-gel method. This method uses a drying method that replaces the liquid phase with gas. Such as gelatin, gum Arabic, silica aerogel , hair, nails, etc. Aerogels are also gels with swelling, thixotropy or de-sizing properties.Aerogel, the smallest and densest solid in the entire world, is made of solid material. The density is three kilograms per cubic foot. The most common aerogel type is silicon aerogel. There are several types of aerogels including silicon, sulfur, metal oxides, metal, etc. Aerogel, a compound term, is made up of aero as an adjective which means flying. Gel is obviously gel. Literally means flying gel. Any gel can be called aerogel, as long as the product can keep its shape and is able to be dried without losing the solvent.
Preparation of silica Aerogel
S. Kistler named Aerogel. S. Kistler was the first to name Aerogel. silica aerogel He defined aerogel by supercritical method as the material that is obtained by supercritically dry wet gel. Aerogels were defined in the mid-to late 1990s with the advent and development of atmospheric dry technology. The aerogel structure is a multi-branched Nano-porous three-position network with a high permeability. The bulk density of aerogel is adjustable between 0.003-0.500g/cm-3. The density of the air is 0.00129g/cm3.

In most cases, the preparation of aerogel involves a sol gel process and a process of supercritical drying. Sol-gel is a process that involves controlling the conditions of hydrolysis and polycondensation in a solution. By doing so, different nanoclusters are created, which then adhere together and form a gel. To prevent damage to the material structure due to surface tension, the gel is treated with the supercritical process. It is then placed in a vessel under pressure and heated to make the liquid change phase to supercritical fluid. Surface tension is no longer present. At this point, the supercritical liquid is removed from the pressure vessel. A porous, disordered gas with a continuous nano-scale network structure can then be obtained. Material gel.

Thermal insulation material
The nano-network structure in silicon aerogel is so thin that it effectively limits local thermal excitation. In addition, its thermal conductivity at solid state is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude less than glassy materials. Nano-pores prevent gas molecules from contributing to heat conduction. The silicone aerogel’s refractive indices is very close to one, and its annihilation factor for both infrared and visual light is greater than 100. It transmits sunlight well and blocks infrared radiation, making it a great transparent thermal insulation. It is used in the solar energy usage and energy-saving of buildings. The radiant heat conduction in silicon aerogel is further reduced by doping. At room temperature and under pressure, the thermal conductivity for carbon-doped aerospace gel can be as low 0.013 w/m K. This is the solid with the lowest conductivity. As a replacement for polyurethane, it is expected that this material will be used to insulate refrigerators. Silicon aerogel, when combined with titanium dioxide, can become a new high-temperature thermal insulating material. Thermal conductivity of silicon aerogel at 800K only is 0.03w/mK. This material will be further developed for use in military products.
The low sound speed of the sonic wave is one of its main characteristics. silicon aerogel The material is ideal for acoustic delay and high temperature sound insulation. It has a wide acoustic-impedance range (103 – 107 kg/m2 s) and is ideal as a coupling material to ultrasonic sensors. As an example, the most commonly used acoustic turns Zp = 1 is a good example. It is possible to use ultrasonic generators or detectors that are 5 x L07 kg / m2*s Piezoelectric ceramics. However, the acoustic resistant of air only is 400 kg /m2*s. It can improve sound wave transmission efficiency and reduce signal-to noise ratio in device application. Experimental results indicate that using silica with a 300 kg/m3 density as a coupling medium can increase the sound by 30 dB. Silica aerogels with a density gradient can result in a greater increase in sound intensity.
In the chemical and environmental industries. Aerogels with nanostructures can be used to filter gas in a different way. The material is unique in that it has a uniform distribution of pore sizes and a large porosity. It is an efficient gas filtration material. It is a material that is much larger than the standard table. Aerogels have a wide range of applications as new catalysts and catalyst carriers.

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