Aluminosilicate aerogels have higher sintering temperature than silicate aerogels. Their mesoporous microstructure can be maintained at temperatures as high as 1200 <sup>o</sup>C. Aluminosilicate aerogels composites can be fabricated by using ceramic papers, felts or fabrics as reinforcements so that they can be more handleable for high temperature thermal insulation applications. By achieving good adhesion between fiber and aerogel, spallation of aerogel particles can be averted, making them less “dusty” than many state of the art aerogel insulation materials. For many applications, it is desired that the composites be hydrophobic. In the current work, various silanes with hydrophobic groups were used to modify the surface of the aluminosilicate aerogel or aluminosilicate aerogel composites prior to supercritical drying. The resulted aerogels are hydrophobic but still have low density, high porosity, and high surface area. The microstructure structure, alumina phase transformation, and surface area of hydrophobic aluminosilicate aerogel samples after thermal exposure were characterized for comparison with aerogels without hydrophobic modification.

Hydrophobic aluminosilicate aerogel and their composites

251st National Meeting (2016)

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