Insulation plays a major role in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and the world. The US Environmental Protection Agency notes that commercial and residential buildings generate 12% of greenhouse gas emissions. As a consequence, insulation requirements are anticipated to increase significantly in the next 5-10 years, and the demand for low-thermal-conductivity materials is expected to grow. Silica-aerogel-based materials offer the possibility of delivering low-thermal-conductivity materials by taking advantage of nanoporosity to decrease the density of the material to reduce thermal conduction and to reduce gas conduction. While the commercial production of hydrophobic SiO2 aerogel materials has been established, current methodologies require multiple lengthy processing steps, making the materials expensive to manufacture. In this presentation, cost-effective synthesis and modifications of Mesoporous Cellular Foams (MCFs) based on an oil-in-water microemulsion approach using silicic acid as the silica source will be discussed. The MCFs represent a new class of aerogel-like, three-dimensional, continuous, ultra-large pore materials that can be synthesized with well-controlled and uniformly-sized pores, thick walls and high hydrothermal stability. The pore size, BET surface area, and pore volumes can be controlled by adjusting the amount of swelling agent (oil) added and by varying the aging temperature. SiO2 MCF materials tend to be more robust than SiO2 aerogels and offer opportunities for developing products for a wide range of applications including not only insulation but also battery separators, fire retardants, etc.

Industrial outlook on the development of cost effective SiO2 mesoporous cellular foams technology

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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