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Synthesis of Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel from water glass with high thermal stability and low thermal conductivity

  • Original Paper: Nano- and macroporous materials (aerogels, xerogels, cryogels, etc.)
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Abstract

The development of Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel with high thermal stability and low thermal conductivity at low cost is meaningful for its scale application. In this paper, Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel (ASA) from water glass and aluminum chloride were successfully prepared. For comparison, SiO2 aerogel (SA) was also prepared. The physical properties, morphology, thermal stability, and thermal conductivity of ASA were explored. The specific surface area of ASA with a Al/Si molar ratio of 0.37 (named ASA-0.37) was 613 m2/g at room temperature, while that of SA was 606 m2/g. The specific surface area retention rate (ratio of the specific surface area after calcined to that at 25 °C) of ASA-0.37 (11.8%) after calcined at 1000 °C was higher than that of SA (1.2%). After calcined at 1200 °C, the ASA-0.37 displayed a lower thermal conductivity of 0.121 W/m·K than that of SA (0.167 W/m·K). It is shown that mullite crystals were produced during heat treatment of ASA, and it restrained the surface diffusion and viscous flow at high temperatures. Thus, high thermal stability was improved. This work provides a low-cost and useful solution to prepare Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel with high thermal stability and low thermal conductivity.

Graphical Abstract

The graphical abstract shows the mechanism of enhancing high-temperature resistance of the Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel. Without the doping of aluminum, the SiO2 aerogel is severely sintered when the temperature rises to 1200 °C. The SEM graph shows that there is almost no residual three-dimensional network structure and the SiO2 particles agglomerate into large particles. In Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel, the doped aluminum reacts with silica and the mullite crystal is formed. The formed mullite can effectively attenuate the sinter of SiO2 particles, and thus the three-dimensional network structure is retained so that the high-temperature performance of the aerogel is improved.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (Grant No. 51802213), Research Project of Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (Grant No. 2022-042), Key R & D program of Shanxi Province (Grant No. 202102030201006) and Shanxi Province Porous Ceramic Material Technology Innovation Center(202104010911002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, PR China

    Chenkang Xia, Mingyuan Hao, Weihai Liu, Xinyuan Zhang, Yang Miao, Chao Ma & Feng Gao

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Correspondence to Yang Miao or Chao Ma.

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Xia, C., Hao, M., Liu, W. et al. Synthesis of Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel from water glass with high thermal stability and low thermal conductivity. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 106, 561–571 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-023-06085-y

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