Silica aerogel makes "insulation" easier!

In today's society, energy conservation, consumption reduction, and emission reduction are the promoted development models.

The reason for saying this is that thermal insulation materials can reduce the heat loss in the process of heat generation, transportation, storage and use by virtue of extremely low thermal conductivity, so they are widely used in construction, chemical industry, electronics, clothing, aerospace, etc.

Thermal insulation principle of silica aerogel

The extremely low thermal conductivity of silica aerogel is mainly due to its unique nanopores and three-dimensional network structure.

At the same time, the porosity inside the aerogel is very high, which can reach more than 90%, and the pore walls of the nanopores are like heat shields, which continuously reflect and refract thermal radiation.

Application of silica in heat insulation

Silica aerogel is currently the solid material with the best thermal insulation performance.

1.

The composite material prepared by the fiber-reinforced method is generally called aerogel felt.

2.

At present, China has become the world's largest producer and user of glass curtain walls.
Although it has excellent lighting and aesthetic advantages, the glass curtain walls have the characteristics of heat absorption and reflection, which will also cause excessive building energy consumption.
However, if aerogel is added to the glass curtain wall, it can increase the heat insulation capacity of the building without affecting the original lighting and appearance of the glass, and reduce the energy consumption of the glass curtain wall building.
Jensen et al.
once used porous silica aerogel to fill the glass intermediate layer and found that the thermal insulation performance was indeed enhanced, thus demonstrating the broad market prospects of silica aerogel windows, which is expected to become a great tool for energy saving and emission reduction in the future.

2.
Thermal insulation coating/film

At present, research on aerogels in the field of coatings/films is gradually unfolding.
In terms of coatings, Lu Bin of Central South University and others have mixed silica aerogel and water-based acrylic resin to prepare heat insulation coatings for glass.
Gao Shuya and others have mixed silica aerogel and epoxy resin to prepare aerogels.
Composite materials; In terms of film, Ni Xingyuan and others have produced a thermal insulation film composed of metal aluminum film and silica aerogel, which increases the thermal insulation effect by five times.

to sum up

The importance of “insulation” in improving energy utilization efficiency and realizing energy saving and emission reduction is obvious.
Therefore, studying the application of silica aerogel in heat insulation materials is important for realizing the efficient use of resources and energy, energy saving and reducing energy consumption.
Consumption and emission reduction are of great significance.
Whether it has more untapped potential, let us wait and see!

source:

Research status and application prospects of silica aerogels, Sun Da, Zhou Changling, Chen Heng, Sui Xueye, Liu Futian.

Silica aerogel and its thermal insulation material preparation and performance research, Bao Zhikang.

Factors affecting the thermal conductivity of silica aerogel thermal insulation coatings, He Fang, Wu Juying, Huang Yuhong, Cheng Juan, Zheng Wei.