There are two common methods for preparing composite aerogel materials: one is to add dopants before the gelation process; the other is to first prepare aerogel particles or powders, then add dopants and binders, and mold or injection-mold to form a secondary formed composite. Common dopants include glass fibers, mullite fibers, rock wool, and silica-alumina fibers. The choice of dopant type mainly depends on the application purpose of the aerogel composite material. Aerogel can be combined with glass fibers, ceramic fibers, or carbon fibers to enhance the bonding force of the system and make the surface less prone to cracking and pulverization.
Composing aerogel-based matrix materials with higher strength and toughness materials can increase the strength of the entire material system and expand more application fields. Although pure fiber mats have thermal insulation effects, the surface fibers are prone to breaking and pulverization, causing floating fibers or powder contamination, and are not suitable for long-term use in high-temperature, compression, and vibration conditions. To solve this problem, a new method of aerogel material compositing has emerged in the market. A composite layer of higher strength and higher toughness materials such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and flame-retardant PET fibers is covered on the outside of the aerogel composite layer. These materials can be applied in special fields such as automotive heat insulation.
Aerogel materials can also be used as coating materials. By adding insulation protection to the base material surface, an aerogel adhesive composition is prepared by mixing aerogel particles, adhesives, flame retardants, and foaming agents, and a thermal reflection layer is coated on the surface of the aerogel coating to significantly improve the heat resistance of the raw materials.
Aerogel materials can also be used in combination with flame retardants to achieve better flame retardancy while enhancing the strength and toughness of the material. There is a Sb2O3-SiO2 composite aerogel inorganic flame retardant with a large specific surface area. It forms a strong interfacial adhesion with polymer matrixes such as plastics and rubbers, improving the dispersion and fluidity of the composite aerogel flame retardant in the polymer melt, enhancing the flame retardant effect, and reducing the loss of mechanical properties of the polymer matrix caused by the addition of inorganic flame retardants.
Aerogel materials can also be combined with textile fibers such as non-woven fabric, polyester short fibers, nylon, etc. to make clothing fabrics. This fabric can be used in areas such as down jackets, cotton coats, outdoor products, fire-resistant suits, astronaut suits, and special operation suits. The material has good insulation, heat preservation, wear resistance, waterproof, windproof properties, and a thermal conductivity lower than 0.05W/(m·K), even lower than that of down and wool.
The common forms of aerogel products include aerogel mats, sheets, fabrics, papers, particles, powders, and irregular-shaped parts: 
(1) Aerogel mats are aerogel composite materials prepared by using the fiber reinforcement method to improve the brittleness of aerogel and enhance mechanical properties. The principle is to add fibers as a supporting framework to support the aerogel with a nano-porous structure, making the prepared composite materials more suitable for applications in multiple fields.
The simplest method for preparing aerogel mats is to add short fibers (later developed into prefabricated fiber mats) to the gel before gelation, allowing both to fully combine to form a composite material.
The fibers used in the preparation fall into two categories: one is organic fibers (polypropylene fibers, carbon fibers, aramid fibers, etc.); the other is inorganic fibers (silica-alumina fibers, ceramic microfibers, and glass fibers, etc.). Various studies have shown that using fiber reinforcement to prepare aerogel composite materials can strengthen the mechanical properties of aerogel and further enhance the practicality of silica aerogel.
(2）For example, aerogel fabric is mainly used in the fields of clothing, shoes and hats. Aerogel paper (thin mat) is mainly used in thermal batteries and some areas where space is extremely limited or the pipe diameter is extremely small or where winding construction is desired. Aerogel irregular-shaped parts are basically used in military applications.
(3) Aerogel plates: The main difference between毡 and plates is merely the difference in hardness.毡 has flexibility and can be rolled， while plates have certain rigidity and are not prone to bending. The main application of plates is for insulation of large equipment and the insulation of exterior and interior walls of buildings in the future.
(4) Aerogel particles： Currently， the main application is to use the transparency of aerogel to fill in PC plates or insulating glass to make light and heat insulation boards.
(5) Aerogel coatings： In traditional insulation materials， coatings are a very important type of product. They play an irreplaceable and important role in many fields. Aerogel coatings have a lower thermal conductivity compared to traditional coatings and have good insulation and heat preservation effects.