Synthesis and Property of Alumina Aerogel

doi:10.15541/jim20170180

Abstract

Abstract:

Alumina aerogel has wide application prospect in high temperature thermal insulation and catalytic fields due to its high specific surface area, high porosity, and better thermal stability than silica aerogel. However, the complicated synthetic process and the low strength of alumina aerogel restrict their application. In this review, the synthetic process of alumina aerogel is firstly introduced. Some problems existed in the Sol-Gel process, the characteristics of various drying methods, and the latest drying methods developed by researchers are pointed out. Then, some representation achievements in the performance improvements on specific surface area, thermal stability, thermal conductivity and compressive strength of alumina aerogel in recent years are summarized. Finally, the development and application of alumina aerogel in high temperature catalytic and thermal insulation fields are introduced, their development tendency is prospected, and some issues on the study of alumina aerogel are highlighted.

Key words: alumina aerogel, synthesis, property, specific surface area, thermal stability, review

CLC Number:

TB332
O648

YANG Jing-Feng, WANG Qi-Hua, WANG Ting-Mei. Synthesis and Property of Alumina Aerogel[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2018, 33(3): 259-265.

Figures/Tables 9

Fig. 1 Ethyl acetoacetate chelating effect[22]

Table 1 Characteristics of several drying methods

Drying method	Characteristics
Drying method	Drying process	Alumina aerogel
Supercritical drying	Short drying period, high synthesis cost	Low density, high porosity and specific surface area, low volume shrinkage^[34,35]
Ambient pressure drying	Long drying period, inexpensive synthesis cost, complicated drying process	High volume shrinkage, large pore size, high density and low specific surface area^{[34,35,36,37]}
Freeze drying	Long drying period, inexpensive synthesis cost	High volume shrinkage, large pore size, high density and low specific surface area

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of the mold assembly used for RSCE[6]

Fig. 3 Phase diagram of ethanol[35]

Fig. 4 Mechanism illustration of the formation of aerogels by OSSD[39]

Fig. 5 Stress-strain curves of Al2O3 aerogels (a) and Al2O3 aerogels before and after heat treatment at high temperature (b)[48]

Fig. 6 Compressive stress-strain curves (a) and bulk densities and thermal conductivities (b) of C/Al2O3 aerogels heat treated at different temperatures[50]

Fig. 7 Stress-strain curves of ACAs with different contents of cellulose (ACA0.5, ACA1 and ACA2 corresponding to the cellulose content of 0.5wt%, 1wt% and 2wt%, respectively)[51]

Fig. 8 Effective specific extinction coefficient of Al2O3-SiO2 aerogel composites reinforced by SiC-coated mullite fibers prepared with different concentration of precursor[52]

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