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Polyimide-Silica Hybrid Aerogels with High Mechanical Strength for Thermal Insulation Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2011

Wenting Dong
Affiliation:
Aspen Aerogels, Inc., Northborough, MA 01532, USA
Wendell Rhine
Affiliation:
Aspen Aerogels, Inc., Northborough, MA 01532, USA
Shannon White
Affiliation:
Aspen Aerogels, Inc., Northborough, MA 01532, USA
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Abstract

High performance polyimides have been widely investigated as materials with excellent thermal, mechanical, and electronic properties due to their highly rigid structures. Aspen has developed an approach to prepare polyimide aerogels which have applications as low dielectric constant materials, separation membranes, catalyst supports and insulation materials. In this paper, we will discuss the preparation of polyimide-silica hybrid aerogel materials with good mechanical strengths and low thermal conductivities. The polyimide-silica hybrid aerogels were made by a two-step process and the materials were characterized to determine thermal conductivity and compressive strength. Results show that compressive moduli of the polyimide-silica hybrid aerogels increase dramatically with density (power law relationship). Thermal conductivity of the aerogels is dependent on the aging conditions and density, with the lowest value achieved so far being ~12 mW/m-K at ambient conditions. The relationship between aerogel density and surface area, thermal stability, porosity and morphology of the nanostructure of the polyimide-silica hybrid aerogels are also described in this paper.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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References

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