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Engineering mesoporous silica for superior optical and thermal properties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2020

Danielle M. Butts ,
Patricia E. McNeil ,
Michal Marszewski ,
Esther Lan ,
Tiphaine Galy ,
Man Li ,
Joon Sang Kang ,
David Ashby ,
Sophia King  and
Sarah H. Tolbert
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Danielle M. Butts
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Patricia E. McNeil
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Michal Marszewski
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Esther Lan
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Tiphaine Galy
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Man Li
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Joon Sang Kang
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
David Ashby
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Sophia King
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Sarah H. Tolbert
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California90095, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California90095, USA; The California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Yongjie Hu
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Laurent Pilon
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
Bruce S. Dunn*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA The California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095, USA
*
Address all correspondence to Bruce S. Dunn at [email protected]
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Abstract

We report a significant advance in thermally insulating transparent materials: silica-based monoliths with controlled porosity which exhibit the transparency of windows in combination with a thermal conductivity comparable to aerogels.

The lack of transparent, thermally insulating windows leads to substantial heat loss in commercial and residential buildings, which accounts for ~4.2% of primary US energy consumption annually. The present study provides a potential solution to this problem by demonstrating that ambiently dried silica aerogel monoliths, i.e., ambigels, can simultaneously achieve high optical transparency and low thermal conductivity without supercritical drying. A combination of tetraethoxysilane, methyltriethoxysilane, and post-gelation surface modification precursors were used to synthesize ambiently dried materials with varying pore fractions and pore sizes. By controlling the synthesis and processing conditions, 0.5–3 mm thick mesoporous monoliths with transmittance >95% and a thermal conductivity of 0.04 W/(m K) were produced. A narrow pore size distribution, <15 nm, led to the excellent transparency and low haze, while porosity in excess of 80% resulted in low thermal conductivity. A thermal transport model considering fractal dimension and phonon-boundary scattering is proposed to explain the low effective thermal conductivity measured. This work offers new insights into the design of transparent, energy saving windows.

Keywords

aerogelnanostructureoptical propertiesporositythermal conductivity
Type
Original Research Article
Information
MRS Energy & Sustainability , Volume 7 , 2020 , E39
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020, published on behalf of Materials Research Society by Cambridge University Press

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