Issue 38/2013 - Central South University successfully developed a new transparent aerogel material

Central South University has successfully developed a new transparent aerogel material

On September 16, the "new transparent aerogel material" developed by Central South University passed the expert appraisal
organized by the Science and Technology Department of Hunan Province.

Silica aerogel, also known as "solid smoke" or "frozen smoke", is the lightest solid material known in the world, and so far the best thermal insulation performance material, because of its nanoporous network structure, extremely low thermal conductivity, durable, high temperature resistance, explosion-proof and other characteristics, in petroleum, chemical, building materials, metallurgy, aviation, aerospace and other fields have huge application prospects
.
At present, only a few countries such as the United States, Germany, Sweden, Russia, and Japan have mastered the technology
of new transparent aerogels.
However, due to the extremely high technical threshold, foreign countries have not yet broken through the large-scale technology of large-scale complete transparent aerogels, and have not realized this industrialization
.

The project of "Research on New Transparent Aerogel Materials and Its Application in Building Energy Conservation" completed by Central South University has developed a new technology of sol-gel directional regulation, which not only improves the strength of the gel, but also ensures the transparency of the aerogel, and takes the lead in developing a large-scale complete transparent aerogel large-scale process at home and abroad, forming a complete set of technologies and equipment for the large-scale preparation of transparent aerogel, which can achieve large-scale production, significantly improve production efficiency, and reduce costs by more than
50%.
。 The new transparent aerogel energy-saving glass developed has ultra-low heat transfer coefficient and good light transmittance, which can meet the needs of higher energy-saving indicators and higher-level green buildings in
buildings.

It is understood that the exterior doors and windows in the building are the weakest part of thermal insulation in the envelope, and the energy consumption lost through it has exceeded fifty percent
of the total energy consumption of the building envelope.
Experts believe that the new transparent aerogel market has great potential, and the promotion and application of this achievement will greatly improve the energy conservation level of buildings in China and promote energy conservation and emission reduction
in the field of urban and rural construction.
(Gao Yuan)