Synthesis of silica aerogel for insulating materials applied to the construction industry

N. E. SUAREZ; C.I. MEYER; A. J. MARCHI; O. SANZ; S.A. REGENHARDT

San Sebastian

Conferencia; 2nd International Conference on Aerogel Inspired Materials; 2023

Silica aerogel is a highly efficient material in terms of thermal and acoustic insulation and has interesting properties such as being extremely lightweight and fire-resistant. However, its manufacturing process is quite complicated and requires specialized equipment and processes that make its production expensive.Silica aerogel is produced through a process called sol-gel, which involves creating a silica solution, followed by the removal of the liquid to leave only the solid structure. This process is very delicate and requires special conditions, such as controlled high temperatures and pressures, which make production slow and expensive.In addition, is a relatively new material and its production has not yet reached a mass production scale, which means that production costs are still relatively high compared to other more common materials. However, as new techniques are developed and production efficiency improves, it is possible that costs will decrease in the future. Silica aerogel can be used as insulation in buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce heating and cooling costs. It can be used in walls, roofs, and floors to provide a high level of thermal insulation. Then, in order to gain traction for these new materials, research and development must focus on producing silica aerogels with production costs comparable to those of conventional materials.The aim of this work is to develop a material with superior insulating properties to be incorporated into the formulation of coatings used in the construction industry. This involves synthesizing hydrophobic silica aerogel powder/granules from sodium silicate using the co-precursor method and drying under ambient pressure.The obtained materials were characterized and coating formulations containing silica aerogel in their composition were developed. These materials were also characterized. A silica aerogel was obtained with properties similar to commercial aerogel. The prepared formulations showed excellent insulating properties according to their intended use.