Aerogels are a diverse class of ultralow density, nanoporous solid foams with impressive insulating capabilities, ultrahigh strength-to-weight ratios, and many other amazing materials properties. Aerogels are best known for being the world’s best thermally insulating materials, which is why superinsulating blankets are made with aerogel. They are also the world’s lightest solid materials, and mechanically robust aerogels such as Airloy® Ultramaterials are now being used as ultralight replacements to plastics. Aerogels also exhibit incredibly high internal surface area—in fact, a typical piece of aerogel the size of an ice cube has about half a football field’s worth of surface area wrapped up inside its pores. This makes electrically conductive aerogels such as carbon aerogels particularly interesting as electrodes for batteries, supercapacitors, and desalination systems.
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There is so much more to be said about aerogels that we recommend you visit Aerogel.org. There you will find an encyclopedic reference about aerogels, how they’re made, and what they’re are used for.
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Aerogels are generally available in three form factors:
- Monoliths (shaped, block-type forms)
- Particles
- Blankets
Monolithic aerogel or monoliths are continuous solid materials with a defined shape. This includes the ethereal blue “NASA-type” silica aerogel people typically think about when they hear the word “aerogel”. Monoliths include aerogel discs, blocks, spheres, cubes, cylinders, rods, etc.
Aerogel particles include millimeter-sized granules, which are used in skylights to allow light to diffuse through but not heat, and micron-sized particles, which are used as performance additives for insulative coatings, safety coatings, and matte finish coatings.
Aerogel composite blankets are the most common type of insulation made with aerogels and are composed of woven or non-woven fibers coated or embedded with aerogel. These materials can be rolled, cut, and sewn and offer three to five times better thermal performance than other insulating materials.
Monolithic aerogels are shaped aerogel forms such as discs, blocks, spheres, cubes, cylinders, rods, etc. (The term has little to do with the Monolith of : A Space Odyssey.)
Not anymore. Aerogels were once only produced by universities, national laboratories, and NASA, and so they used to be very expensive to make and very hard to get. Today aerogels are mass-produced by companies such as Aerogel Technologies, Aspen Aerogels, and Cabot Aerogel and are now affordable for applications ranging from home insulation to skylights to consumer electronics. In fact, in the case of insulating blankets, aerogel blankets offer three times the insulating ability of conventional insulating materials in some cases at less than three times the cost per unit area while also providing numerous multifunctional advantages such as being waterproof and preventing corrosion of pipes underneath the insulation (a phenomenon called CUI), so for many applications, aerogel materials can actually be less expensive than conventional materials.
The term “aerogel” is used to refer to any of a number of different materials that may differ greatly in composition, form, density, and functionality. Most aerogel blankets, particles, and monoliths are based on silica aerogel, which is comprised of synthetic amorphous silica. As a substance, synthetic amorphous silica has been found to not be harmful to humans—it is non-toxic and non-carcinogenic. Monolithic aerogels such as those found here on BuyAerogel.com are generally safe to handle and experiment with. Aerogel particles and blankets may generate nuisance dust when handled and so appropriate protective gear such as safety glasses, gloves, and a dust mask are recommended when handling these types of products. For non-silica aerogel materials, the aerogel form is, in general, as safe as the material(s) upon which the aerogel is based, keeping in mind that particulate forms of any material can potentially present respiratory hazards. For more information about a particular aerogel product, please consult the materials safety data sheet (MSDS) contact us.
Aerogels are a diverse class of materials and so different products have different strength and toughness profiles.
Aerogel blankets, for example, are flexible, resilient, and withstand the force of being handled and stepped on, however may shed some dust in the process.
Monolithic aerogels such as Classic Silica™ aerogels have incredibly high strength-to-weight ratios but often exhibit low fracture toughness and so they tend to be very fragile. That said, monolithic aerogels can withstand several thousand times their weight in applied force if applied compressively and gently.
Airloy™ Ultramaterials such as Airloy X103 are the strongest aerogels available and are mechanically robust and non-brittle. They are strong enough to be used in many applications where plastics and composites are used today but are three to fifteen times lighter than typical engineering materials. Airloys can be machined, drilled, tapped, flexed, and, in some cases, thermoformed.
Aerogel particles exhibit strength and toughness properties similar to monolithic aerogels, however with such small dimensions they pour and handle just like other particulate materials. Aerogel particles are strong in compression and can withstand vacuum as well as the compressive forces exerted on them when packed tightly into, for example, a double-pane skylight.
Since many monolithic aerogels tend to be very fragile, we recommend you follow the following guidelines to prevent damaging your specimen:
- Don’t pinch or poke the aerogel
- If your sample is water-sensitive (such as Classic Silica™ aerogels) make sure your hands are dry and sweat-free before handling (you can also wear gloves)
- Handle the sample by gently dumping the specimen out of its container into your hand
- Pass the sample by carefully dumping from hand to hand
- If you absolutely must pinch the sample to grab it, do so as gently as possible and avoid squeezing the sample
- Don’t drop the sample
- If your sample is water-sensitive, do not contact the sample with water
- If your sample is hydrophobic, do not contact the sample with non-polar substances such as oil or solvents
- Store the sample in a dry environment at room temperature
Yes. Carbon aerogels are electrically conductive. Other electrically conductive aerogels include metal aerogels, nanotube aerogels, and graphene aerogels. Silica aerogels and other oxide-based aerogels are generally electrically insulating.
Please see our selection of cut-to-size bulk aerogel superinsulating blankets for partial and full rolls of aerogel insulation.
Sorry, aerogels, like other materials, do break if not handled properly and we cannot replace broken monoliths. Please see the handling FAQ above our shipping and returns policies for more information.
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Yes, BuyAerogel.com happily ships to destinations all over the world. Just select your destination country at checkout and we’ll take care of the rest. For questions regarding international shipping, please see our shipping and return policies.
Please contact us for custom aerogel shape, composition, and size inquiries.
Aerogel Technologies is the world leader in shape control of aerogels. Please contact us for custom aerogel shape, composition, and size inquiries.
We’ve worked hard to make aerogels affordable for everyone, including educators. While we can’t provide free materials, write us with your story and we’ll see what we can do.
BuyAerogel.com offers a wide range of affordable aerogel samples available for on-demand purchase and offers discount pricing for bulk quantities. While we cannot provide free samples, we are always happy to help you find an aerogel material that fits your budget and meets your applications needs.
Please contact us for custom aerogel shape, composition, and size inquiries.
The building industry is not always just about making a building, but it also includes protection from building collapse. This protection can be done by using components that have good quality. This good quality can make them stand firm for a very long time. One of the best ways you can protect your building is by using insulation. One of the best for this is the aerogel insulation, which is being used more often in modern projects.
This popularity is because of its material benefits. The benefits include a lightweight component, its flexible function, and its ability to lower heat energy. You can use aerogel insulation for your walls, roofs, and floors. However, this process needs special techniques. To learn how to do it step by step, this article provides you with a guide.
Aerogel insulation is a building protector made of synthetic amorphous silica (SAS). This silica gel can change into air or gas. This process is because of its components, which are made of joined chains. These components have pores that can trap air pockets throughout the gel. The more air pockets it has, the lighter the component will be.
This covering is known as frozen smoke. It is because of its transparent and almost weightless look. Aerogel has a very low density, ranging from 0. to 0.5 g/cm3. Meanwhile, the normal density is around 0.020 g/cm3. Therefore, the covering made from this component will be very light and have good thermal insulation properties because of the air pockets trapped in its pores. This overall reduces the stress placed on the building.
You can use this aerogel insulation to protect your building from extreme weather, such as summer or winter. Typically, you can use this type for any building protection. This type also has properties that are resistant to fire, water, and chemicals. This makes it the right choice and a durable insulation material.
It is a good insulation because it brings a lot of benefits to your building. For example, you can use it to cool your home from the heat. Its lightweight nature uses less material, lowers the weight of structures, and makes the installation process much easier. Therefore, to understand more about it, below is a list of the advantages of using aerogel insulation for your home:
Aerogel insulation has several problems that you need to pay attention to. These problems come from several factors. The factors include financial, building components, and production. These factors can be your consideration in deciding which insulation you can use to lower the heat in your home. The factors have very efficient properties in lowering the heat, you need to understand some of them as well.
You can find these problems in everyday life because they are related to high costs, special handling issues, and mass production problems. These things can be a barrier for you to use as the main insulation material in your home. Here is a detailed explanation of these factors to understand them better, such as:
This insulation has a very expensive price when compared to other types of insulation, such as mineral wool, polyurethane foam, or fibreglass. This is because the manufacturing process is complicated, the raw materials are not cheap, and the production of silica gels is very rare. That way, this can make the cost of reconstruction or building your house swell.
In addition to the price, this insulation also has fragile and sensitive characteristics. This is because the load is light and transparent. Hence, this insulation can be destroyed or cracked if pressed too hard or installed with a rough process. Because of this, insulation sometimes requires additional protection to avoid cracking. However, this will increase your expenses.
This aerogel insulation includes a supercritical drying process where they make the insulation by removing the liquid without shrinking it using silica gel. The drying process is expensive, takes a long time, and requires special tools. The other thing is, silica gel insulation is difficult to find in regular hardware stores. However, you can still request it through special requests, which can even take a long time.
The process of installing aerogel insulation has several stages, such as preparation, cutting, and finishing. These three processes are a general description of the installation process, but there are several detailed steps that you can follow. To understand it more, you can follow the step-by-step guide below for the installation process:
Aerogel insulation is a very effective choice for your home or building project. This is because it can function to keep the building temperature stable, both in hot and cold weather. With its lightweight, fire-resistant, and excellent thermal insulation characteristics, this type of insulation can provide great benefits for building protection. However, despite its many advantages, the high cost, complicated production process, and special handling requirements are challenges that you need to consider before choosing it as your main insulation material.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Aerogel Coating Manufacturer . Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.