RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Polyurethane foam scaffold for silica aerogels: effect of cell size on the mechanical properties and thermal insulation
A1 Merillas Valero, Beatriz
A1 Lamy Mendes, Alyne
A1 Villafañe González, Fernando
A1 Durães, Luisa
A1 Rodríguez Pérez, Miguel Ángel
K1 Polyurethane foams
K1 Nano-structures
K1 Mechanical properties
K1 Silica composites
K1 Aerogel
AB Silica-based aerogels have been successfully reinforced by means of reticulated polymeric polyurethane (PU) foams with different cell sizes. The resultant silica aerogel-PU foam composites (Sil-PU composites) were fully characterized (density, shrinkage, aerogel percentage, and porous structure), and the mechanical properties and thermal conductivities were analyzed. Moreover, the effect of the application of a surface modification was assessed. A clear influence of the foam pore size on the final properties was found, and the mechanical properties of the aerogels have been notably improved reaching higher elastic modulus (from 130 to 307 kPa), excellent recovery ratios (above 95%), and significant deformations (more than 70%) without breaking. Therefore, the synthesized composites showed a great elasticity (high recovery ratios), tenacity, resilience, and stiffness in comparison with the non-reinforced aerogels. The obtained samples also showed excellent insulating capacities, reaching values between 14.0 and 12.3 mW/(m·K) for the surface-modified composites that were dried under supercritical conditions. Thus, using reticulated PU foams as a skeleton for aerogels is a promising strategy for a broad spectrum of applications in which silica aerogels are suitable candidates.
PB Elsevier
SN 2468-5194
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/73909
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/73909
LA eng
NO Materials Today Chemistry, December 2022, vol. 26, 101257
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 22-ene-2025