Effect of Drying Control Agent on Physicochemical and Thermal Properties of Silica Aerogel Derived via Ambient Pressure Drying Process

Natalia Pawlik, Barbara Szpikowska-Sroka (), Artur Miros, Bronisław Psiuk and Agnieszka Ślosarczyk
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Natalia Pawlik: Institute of Chemistry, University of Silesia, 9 Szkolna Street, 40-007 Katowice, Poland
Barbara Szpikowska-Sroka: Institute of Chemistry, University of Silesia, 9 Szkolna Street, 40-007 Katowice, Poland
Artur Miros: Łukasiewicz Research Network—Warsaw Institute of Technology, Center for Sustainable Management of Raw Materials and Products, 193A Al. Korfantego Street, 40-157 Katowice, Poland
Bronisław Psiuk: Łukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials, Refractory Materials Division, 99 Toszecka Street, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Agnieszka Ślosarczyk: Institute of Building Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Transport Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo 3, 60-965 Poznan, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: This paper presents the effect of drying control agents on the physicochemical and thermal properties of hydrophobic silica aerogels derived via the ambient pressure drying (APD) method by a surface silylation using a TMCS/n-hexane mixture. The structural and physicochemical properties of synthesized DMF-modified and unmodified hydrophobic silica aerogels were characterized using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, thermo-gravimetric analysis, FT-IR, and Raman spectroscopic techniques. Based on the obtained results, the differences in structure between samples before and after a surface silylation and the effect of drying control agents were documented. The structural measurements confirmed the efficient silylation process (TMCS/n-hexane), as well as the presence of DMF residues of hydrogen bonded with unreacted Si-OH silanol groups within the silica backbone after surface modification. Based on TG analysis, it was found that DMF addition improves thermal resistance (up to 320 °C) and hydrophobic character of prepared aerogel. Modification of the silica aerogel synthesis process by DMF also resulted in a significant increase in BET—the specific surface area, for the unmodified aerogel was ~828 m 2 /g, and for the DMF-modified aerogel more than 1200 m 2 /g—much higher than the value of silica aerogels available on the market.

Keywords: silica aerogels; sol-gel method; drying control agents; N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF); silylation; ambient pressure drying (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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