Silica-Resorcinol-Melamine-Formaldehyde Composite Aerogels as High-Performance Thermal Insulators.

ABSTRACT: Here, we report the gelation and supercritical drying of ethanol-based silica-resorcinol-melamine-formaldehyde (RMF) composite aerogels with relative concentrations of initial reagents ranging from neat silica to neat RMF alcogels. The as-prepared materials are subsequently supercritically dried with carbon dioxide. Their properties include a thermal conductivity in the 15-20 mW·m^-1·K^-1 range even with a silica content as low as 20%_wt. The possible reasons behind this interesting insulation performance and the mechanisms leading to the underlying gel structure are discussed in depth. A focus is made on the different gelation modes happening between the RMF and silica phases, from a coating of silica surfaces with RMF species to discontinuous RMF particles w

SUBMITTER: Civioc R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9088793 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature