Modulating pore microstructure of silica aerogels dried at ambient pressure by adding N-hexane to the solvent

In this work, a kind of superhydrophobic silica aerogels was prepared at ambient pressure using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as precursor. Particularly, N-hexane was added in the solvent to modulation pore microstructure and effect on the insulation properties of samples were analyzed. It is discovered that when the volume ratio of N-hexane to TEOS is 1:2.24 the thermal conductivity of samples can reach the lowest of 0.012 W/m·K. Compared with that of samples no addition of N-hexane, the density is decreased, the theoretical average pore size increases and the total pore volume increases. Due to N-hexane it leads cross-linking between the sol particles stronger and inhomogeneous. Thus gelation process is speeded up resulting in a change in pore structure. Low density can reduce the solid-phase heat transfer, perfect pore microstructure reduces the contribution of gas-phase heat transfer, and only when the two aspects forms a suitable combination it can exhibit optimal thermal insulation performance.