Aerogel is a kind of material with thermal insulation, fire retardant, light weight and low density. There are many types of aerogel, such as silica aerogel, metal aerogel, metal oxide aerogel, carbon aerogel, etc., of which silica aerogel is the most commonly used. Today, we will show you how effective silica aerogels are for heat insulation.

There are nanoscale pores in the silica aerogel, which are connected to form a three-dimensional network structure, and the porosity is as high as 80%-99.8%. These pores contain a large amount of air or gas. Air (gas) is a very effective insulating medium. When heat tries to pass through the silica aerogel, it must first pass through the air in these pores, and the air acts as a barrier to heat so strongly that it effectively prevents the transfer of heat.

The thermal conductivity of silica aerogel is very low. Thermal conductivity is a measure of a material's heat transfer ability, and the thermal conductivity of silica aerogel is usually in the range of 0.02-0.03 W/(m·K), which is much lower than most traditional thermal insulation materials, such as foam polystyrene board, glass fiber, etc. This means that silica aerogel is able to significantly reduce heat transfer, providing excellent insulation.

In the field of construction, silica aerogel is widely used in the insulation of walls, roofs and other parts. Due to its extremely low thermal conductivity, aerogel can effectively reduce the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor, and improve the thermal insulation performance of buildings. In the cold winter, aerogels can block the invasion of cold air and keep the room warm. In the hot summer, it can block the invasion of outdoor high temperature and reduce the indoor temperature. In this way, the building can not only maintain comfort in the environment of spring all year round, but also effectively save energy and reduce carbon emissions.

In addition, in the aerospace field, silica aerogel also plays an important role. The spacecraft is faced with extreme temperature environment in space, which requires the heat insulation material to have excellent heat insulation and high temperature resistance. Silica aerogel is the ideal material to meet these requirements. It can not only effectively isolate the influence of external high and low temperatures on the interior of the spacecraft, but also maintain stable performance in a high temperature environment to ensure the normal operation of the spacecraft.

In addition to the construction and aerospace fields, silica aerogel has been widely used in many other fields. For example, in electronic equipment, aerogel can be used as a heat dissipation material to reduce the operating temperature of the device; In refrigeration equipment, aerogels can improve the refrigeration effect and prolong the freshness life of food. In the field of new energy, aerogel can be used for thermal insulation of solar panels to improve photovoltaic conversion efficiency.

Silica aerogels exhibit excellent thermal insulation due to their low thermal conductivity, high porosity and stability at extreme temperatures. In the fields of building insulation, high-temperature equipment insulation, aerospace equipment and automobile manufacturing, silica aerogel has a wide range of application prospects, and will provide more efficient and reliable thermal insulation solutions for all walks of life.