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What is an aerogel and why can it be insulated?
Release time:
2024-07-26
Aerogel is a kind of light solid material in which nano-colloidal particles aggregate to form nano-framework and nano-porous network structure
Aerogel is a kind of light solid material in which nano-colloidal particles aggregate to form nano-framework and nano-porous network structure, and the pores are filled with gaseous dispersion medium. Because of its translucent color and ultra-light weight, aerogel presents a state like smoke in the air, known as "solid smoke.
In 1931, American chemist Samuel Stephens Kistler prepared the world's first aerogel. He used supercritical technology to dry the gel (similar to jelly, composed of a solid network skeleton and a liquid contained in the network), and replaced the liquid in the gel with air while keeping the solid network structure in the gel from collapsing, thus obtaining aerogel. Conversely, if the gel is dried directly, the capillary forces introduced by the volatilization of the liquid in the network will generally cause the network to contract, resulting in a dense rather than porous material. This unique porous structure gives the aerogel very low density, as well as very low thermal conductivity and large specific surface area. Because of these excellent properties, aerogels are expected to be "magic materials to change the world".
Aerogels have very low density, ultra-high porosity, low thermal conductivity, low acoustic impedance and other characteristics, which are generally not available in solid-state materials. These characteristics make it have great application prospects in the fields of heat insulation, biomedicine, sound insulation, adsorption and so on.
As the "king of heat insulation" in the field of materials, aerogels have a wide range of applications in aerospace, automotive batteries, construction and other fields. The Russian "Peace" space station, the American "Mars Pathfinder" probe, my country's "Long March 5" carrier rocket and "Zhu Rong" Mars rover have all used aerogel materials as thermal insulation materials.
Aerogels are also used for thermal runaway insulation in ternary batteries. The spontaneous combustion of electric vehicle batteries occasionally occurs in life. It is often only a few seconds from fire to vehicle deflagration. The main reason is that the internal insulation level of the battery is not enough, and the thermal runaway of a single cell extends to the entire battery pack. As a fireproof and thermal insulation material, the biggest function of aerogel is to delay or prevent the spread of heat and flame. Its application in new energy vehicles can better realize the temperature control and electronic control management of the battery and improve the performance, play the role of heat insulation and fire prevention, and strive for more time for users and passengers to escape the scene and put out the fire.
In addition, in the low temperature environment, the movement ability of charged electrons in the positive and negative materials of the lithium iron phosphate battery deteriorates, resulting in battery capacity decline and battery life reduction. The excellent thermal insulation performance of the aerogel can make the cells in the lithium iron phosphate battery not affected by the external low temperature.
In daily production and life, aerogels also have a wide range of applications: functional cellulose aerogels have natural advantages in the adsorption of carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and other gases, as well as the removal of heavy metal ions, organic dyes, organic solvents and oil and sewage in wastewater.
In the future, with the continuous improvement of the preparation process and the continuous development of science and technology, aerogels will gradually integrate into public life, bringing surprising changes to various fields.
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