Facile construction of the aerogel/geopolymer composite with ultra-low thermal conductivity and high mechanical performance

Abstract

In this work, we have successfully prepared a lightweight, highly hydrophobic and superb thermal insulating aerogel/geopolymer composite by a sol–gel immersion method. After silica aerogel was impregnated, the composite exhibited nano-porous structures. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy observations revealed that the aerogel particles were tightly anchored on the geopolymer surface. With several excellent properties (bulk density: 306.5 g cm⁻³, thermal conductivity: 0.0480 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ and maximum compressive strength: 0.79 MPa) the as-prepared composite shows great potential to be applied in the thermal insulation field.