Effect of Organic-inorganic Crosslinking Extent on Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Aerogel

In all kinds of aerogels, silicon-based aerogel possesses the most comprehensive mechanism of Sol-Gel process and maturest synthesis process. In this work, different types of silicon-based aerogels were prepared via different silicon precursors including tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS), vinylmethyldimethoxysilane (VMDMS) and the mixed precursor of MTMS and dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS). All samples display high specific surface area and porous microstructure. Effect of the precursor structure on the mechanical and thermal properties of final samples was deeply investigated. The results show that elastic property of silicon-based aerogels depends greatly on the crosslinking degree of their skeleton. The lower the crosslinking degree of the sample is, the better the elastic property is. Furthermore, the elastic property can be further improved by introducing hydrocarbon chains into the skeleton. Thermal conductivity of the obtained aerogels is between 0.032 and 0.041 W/(mK) at room temperature. Their weight loss increases with the increase of the organic component in the skeleton. Superior mechanical and thermal properties enable silicon-based aerogels to be promising candidates for thermal insulation and energy storage.