Dear Colleagues,

Aerogels are the lightest solids on earth. Due to their low density, high porosity, extremely large specific area and random nano-porous structure, they have a wide range of applications in the fields of catalysts, absorbents, supercapacitors and thermal insulation, etc. Silica aerogel has many exceptional properties; in particular, its thermal conductivity can be lower than that of stilled air. Thus, silica aerogel is an ideal thermal insulation material. However, pure silica aerogel is too fragile and nearly transparent to the thermal radiation within the spectrum range of 3–8 μm, which will lead to a significant increase in radiative thermal conductivity at high temperatures. In order to improve the mechanical strength and thermal insulation performance at elevated temperatures, additives such as reinforced fibers and opacifiers are usually composited with silica aerogel. At present, there are still many challenges in synthesizing low-cost and high-performance silica aerogel composites. Numerical prediction and experimental measurement for revealing the thermal insulation mechanism and optimizing both the mechanical and thermal insulation performances are also insufficient.       

This Special Issue focuses on recent research and advances in silica aerogel composite. The topics include but are not limited to synthesizing silica aerogel composite, numerical predicting and experiment studies of the properties of silica aerogel composite, and research relating to the corresponding applications is also welcomed.

Dr. Hu Zhang
Guest Editor

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• silica aerogel composite
• thermal property
• mechanical property
• material synthesis
• numerical simulation
• experimental test
• application