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Review
. 2017 Feb 16;7(2):44.
doi: 10.3390/nano7020044.

Recent Advances in Research on the Synthetic Fiber Based Silica Aerogel Nanocomposites

Agnieszka Ślosarczyk  1
Affiliations
Review

Recent Advances in Research on the Synthetic Fiber Based Silica Aerogel Nanocomposites

Agnieszka Ślosarczyk. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

The presented paper contains a brief review on the synthesis and characterization of silica aerogels and its nanocomposites with nanofibers and fibers based on a literature study over the past twenty years and my own research. Particular attention is focused on carbon fiber-based silica aerogel nanocomposites. Silica aerogel is brittle in nature, therefore, it is necessary to improve this drawback, e.g., by polymer modification or fiber additives. Nevertheless, there are very few articles in the literature devoted to the synthesis of silica aerogel/fiber nanocomposites, especially those focusing on carbon fibers and nanofibers. Carbon fibers are very interesting materials, namely due to their special properties: high conductivity, high mechanical properties in relation to very low bulk densities, high thermal stability, and chemical resistance in the silica aerogel matrix, which can help enhance silica aerogel applications in the future.

Keywords: ambient pressure drying; fibers reinforcement; silica aerogel nanocomposites; sol-gel synthesis; supercritical drying.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) picture of silica aerogel from Tetraethyloorthosilane (TEOS) supercritically dried in CO2; (b) adsorption/desorption isotherms of N2 for silica aerogel (curve shape corresponds to the characteristic mesoporous structure).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) picture of silica aerogel blanket; (b) Silica aerogel granules.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scheme of different fibers used as reinforcements in silica aerogel nanocomposites.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM images of carbon microfibers. (a) in bulk; (b) cross-section of single fiber.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and (b) TG curves of carbon fiber-based silica aerogels synthesized from TEOS precursor in ambient pressure drying (1—pure aerogel, 2—with unmodified carbon microfibers, 3—with modified carbon microfibers).
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a) SEM pictures of carbon fiber-based silica aerogel; (b) the surface of carbon microfibers covered by nanoparticles of the silica aerogel.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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