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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 universe, is made of a solid material. The density of the aerogel is three kilograms per cubic meter. The most common aerogel type is silicon aerogel. Aerogels are available in a variety of types, including silicon and carbon. Aerogel, a compound term, is made up of aero as an adjective which means flying. Gel is obviously gel. Literally translates to a flying jelly. Any gel can be called aerogel, as long as the gel can be dried out and separated from the solvent inside, but still retain its shape.
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. Aerogel was first defined in the mid-to late 1990s with the advent and development of atmospheric dry technology. The aerogel structure is a cylindrical Nano porous network with a three-position structure. This structure has high permeability, extreme porosity and low density. The bulk density of aerogel is adjustable between 0.003-0.500g/cm-3. (The density is 0.00129g / cm-3).

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 hydrolysis conditions and polycondensation reactions of a solution. This results in nanoclusters forming and adhering to one another to form gel. To prevent damage to material structures caused by surface tension within the micropores, the supercritical process is used. Gel is placed into a pressure container to increase temperature and pressure, causing the liquid to phase change to supercritical fluid. Surface tension is no longer present. At this point, the supercritical liquid is removed from the pressure vessel. A porous, low density, disordered gas can then be obtained with a continuous nano-scale network structure. 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 lowest solid thermal 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 an excellent acoustic resistance material coupling for ultrasonic sensors. As an example, the most commonly used acoustic turns Zp = 1 is a good choice. It is possible to use ultrasonic generators or detectors that are 5 x L07 kg / M2 * S of Piezoelectric materials, but the air’s acoustic resistant is only 400kg / M2 * S. A silicon aerogel coupling between air and piezoelectric material is made of a thin layer of 1/4 wavelength. 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 sound intensities by 30 dB. Silica aerogels with a gradient of density will increase sound intensity.
Environmental protection and chemical 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 high porosity. It is an efficient gas filter 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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