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Recyclable thermo-insulating panels made by reversible gelling of dispersed silica aerogel microparticles

  • Original Paper: Nano-structured materials (particles, fibers, colloids, composites, etc.)
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Abstract

Hydrophobic silica aerogel composite materials are considered as one of the most promising thermal insulation materials in energy-saving buildings. With the increasing negative effect on the environment of construction waste, it is necessary to develop an effectively recyclable thermal aerogel material for the building industry. In this work, we firstly employed a reversible gelling of hydrophobic silica aerogel microparticles dispersed with methyl cellulose surfactant (MCS) to prepare recyclable thermo-insulating panels (RTIP). The RTIP, with low bulk density (<0.05 g/m3) and thermal conductivity (0.027 W/(mK) at 20 °C), has a splintering mass loss of the composite material as low as 1% after 2 h continuous high-frequency oscillation, which was attributed to the rigid support of gelatinized MCS layers. Through mechanical mixing to re-dissolving in water, the reproducible RTIP can be obtained by the same gelling and drying process, with fairly stable hydrophobicity and thermal conductivity after 10 cycles. The strategy demonstrated here provides a new paradigm for developing environmentally-friendly materials for thermal-insulating buildings.

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Highlights

  • A simple strategy was developed to prepare a highly uniform and stable hydrophobic silica aerogel aqueous solution.

  • Recyclable thermo-insulating panels exhibits high porosity, good mechanical strength, and low thermal conductivity (0.027 W/(mK) at 20 °C).

  • Recyclable thermo-insulating panels shows no obvious change in mechanical properties and thermal conductivity after five recyclable cycles.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFA0203301, 2020YFB1505703), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52173052), and the Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellowship (NA170184).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, P.R. China

    Kun Zhang, Tailing Li, Zengzi Wang, Zhizhi Sheng & Xuetong Zhang

  2. Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, NW3 2PF, UK

    Xuetong Zhang

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  1. Kun Zhang
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Correspondence to Xuetong Zhang.

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Zhang, K., Li, T., Wang, Z. et al. Recyclable thermo-insulating panels made by reversible gelling of dispersed silica aerogel microparticles. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 106, 432–443 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05741-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05741-z

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