First, what are the product forms of aerogel
At present, the main forms of aerogel products are aerogel felt, aerogel plate, aerogel cloth, aerogel paper, aerogel particles, aerogel powder, aerogel coating and aerogel shaped parts. These products are made of aerogel and corresponding fiber materials, the basic technology is similar, but the application field and performance of the products vary greatly.
1. Aerogel felt: It is an aerogel product with large output, wide use, mature technology and good thermal insulation performance. The main characteristics of aerogel felt are low thermal conductivity, good heat insulation effect, high hydrophobicity and less powder loss. It is widely used in aerospace and military industry, petrochemical industry, metallurgical building materials, rail transit, high-speed rail cars, nuclear power ships, power batteries, pipeline tanks, refrigerators and other thermal insulation applications.
2, aerogel cloth, paper, shaped parts: mainly used in some special fields. For example, aerogel cloth is mainly used in the field of clothing, shoes and hats, aerogel paper (thin felt) is mainly used for battery insulation and some areas with very small space, extremely thin pipe diameter or need to wrap construction, aerogel shaped parts are basically used in military manufacturing removable insulation bushing.
3, aerogel plate: In fact, one of the main differences between aerogel plate and felt is the difference in hardness. Felt is flexible and can be curled, while the plate has a certain stiffness and is not easy to bend. The main applications of the board are large-scale equipment insulation and future building energy-saving interior and exterior insulation.
4, aerogel particles: At present, the main application of aerogel particles is to use the transparency of aerogel, fill it in the PC board or hollow glass as a lighting insulation board. Although there is a certain market application, but the scale is small.
5, aerogel powder: The history of aerogel industrialization begins with powder, but unfortunately, so far, no substantial batch application of aerogel powder has been found.
6, aerogel coatings: Coatings in traditional thermal insulation materials are very important products, playing an irreplaceable role in many fields. The thermal conductivity of aerogel coating is lower than that of traditional coating, and it has good thermal insulation effect and certain hydrophobic effect.



Second, can aerogel be made into clothes
Aerogel can be made into textiles, clothing to keep warm or navy wetsuits, space suits and so on.
Aerogel is a solid gel material with a porous network structure, and its internal pores are filled with air. Professor Kistler of Stanford University in the United States obtained silica aerogel for the first time under supercritical drying condition by sol-gel method with water glass.
There are many kinds of aerogel, of which SiO2 aerogel is the most common, translucent light blue, ultra-light weight similar to "solid smoke". SiO2 aerogels are typical of porous materials, most of the internal space is filled by air (or other gases), and the volume of its skeleton accounts for only 0.15% to 15% of the total volume.
The average pore size of aerogel is about 25nm, and air molecules (free path 50~70nm) cannot move freely in it. In addition, there are many closed pores of different sizes inside the aerogel skeleton, which increases the heat transfer path of the aerogel solid, so the aerogel is a poor conductor of heat.
Third. Application of aerogel materials
1. Thermal insulation material (thermal insulator)
(1) Pipeline insulation, volatile or flammable material storage and transportation. Aerogel materials are most widely used in furnace pipeline insulation, thermal plant pipeline insulation, liquefied natural gas storage tank and other fields.
(2) textiles, clothing warmth. In the early 20th century, aerogel blankets began to appear. Aspen Company in the United States has prepared a blanket aerogel product named Spacelofl after combining aerogel with fabric. Around 2010, Hugo successfully launched an aerogel jacket and successfully launched it. Mountaineers who use aerogel insoles and sleeping bags (lining materials) also give them high praise.
(3) Building materials, refrigerators and other aspects. Aerogel materials can be used to insulate the roof or glass of a house. The thermal conductivity of aerogel glass is very small, which can play a good role in energy saving. In addition, the current use of fluorine refrigeration refrigerators or polyurethane foam can produce ozone-destroying chemicals, so the use of aerogel will be more environmentally friendly.
2. Aerospace field
Aerogel materials are also widely used in aerospace, such as Mars rovers, navy wetsuits, space suits and so on.
3. Application of aerogel in other fields
The adsorbability of aerogel can be used to make gas masks or to treat pollution caused by oil leaks, and it is also used in filters and fuel storage. In addition, aerogel can also be used as a template material.