AEROGEL-FOAM COMPOSITES
The invention provides reinforced aerogel monoliths as well as reinforced composites thereof for a variety of uses. Compositions and methods of preparing the monoliths and composites are also provided. Application of these materials in transparent assemblies is also discuss.
1 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite, comprising at least one open cell foam component and at least one aerogel matrix.
2 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein the open cell foam component of said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite has a pore size greater than 50 microns or wherein the open cell foam is a coarse cell foam.
3 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein the open cell foam component of said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite is a coarse cell foam.
4 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein the open cell foam component of said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite is at least about 10% open cell foam or preferably at least 50% open cell foam.
5 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein the open cell foam component of said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite is at least about 80% open cell foam or preferably at least 85% open cell foam.
6 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein said open cell foam component is a polyolefin foam, a polyurethane foam, a rebond foam or a combination thereof.
7 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein said aerogel matrix is based on a material selected from the group consisting of: silica, alumina, titania, zirconia, yttria, hafnia, or a combination thereof.
8 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite has a thermal conductivity of less than about 50 mW/mK, less than about 25 mW/mK or less than about 20 mW/mK.
9 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite has a density of less than about 0.150 g/cc, less than about 0.125 g/cc, less than about 0.120 g/cc, less than about 0.115 g/cc, less than about 0.110 g/cc 0r less than about 0.1 g/cc
10 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite transmits incident light by at least about 10%, 20%, 30% or 50%.
11 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , additionally comprising one or more fillers, optionally wherein the largest dimension of said fillers is less than about 100 μm.
12 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 23 , wherein said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite comprises less than about 50% by weight metal silicate filler.
13 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 25 , wherein at least one of said metal silicate fillers is a wollastonite.
14 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 23 , wherein at least one of said fillers is a microfiber.
15 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , additionally comprising an Fe-containing compound, a Mn-containing compound or a Cu-containing compound dispersed within said aerogel-open cell foam composite.
16 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite is encapsulated.
17 . A flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein said flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite is sealed with a sealant.
18 . The flexible aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 , wherein the aerogel matrix is continuous.
19 . An optically translucent and thermally insulating assembly comprising:
at least two planer support members capable of transmitting light, positioned facing each other and spaced thereby defining a gap there between; and
at least one continuous layer of aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 positioned within said gap and secured between said support members, said aerogel-open cell foam composite having optical transmittance of at least about 60% in the visible spectrum.
20 . The assembly of claim 19 wherein the aerogel-open cell foam composite does not rupture below about 16.2% flexural strain.
21 . The assembly of claim 19 wherein the support members comprise a glass material containing less than about 10% iron.
22 . The assembly of claim 19 wherein the support members comprises a polymer selected from a group consisting of: polycarbonates, acrylics, polyethylenes, polypropylenes, cellulose acetate butyrates, glycol modified polyethylene terephthalates, polyvinyl chlorides, and a combination thereof.
23 . An optically transparent and thermally insulating assembly comprising:
at least two planer support members capable of transmitting light, positioned facing each other and spaced thereby defining a gap there between; and
at least one continuous layer of aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 positioned within said gap and secured between said support members.
24 . The assembly of claim 23 wherein said assembly has an optical transmission of at least about 30% in the visible spectrum.
25 . A heated and insulated containment system with an internal volume defined by at least three walls wherein at least one of said three walls comprises:
at least two planer support members capable of transmitting light, positioned facing each other and spaced thereby defining a gap there between; and
at least one continuous layer of aerogel-open cell foam composite of claim 1 positioned within said gap and secured between said support members, said aerogel-open cell foam composite having optical transmittance of at least about 60% in the visible spectrum thereby allowing solar radiation to substantially enter said internal volume.
26 . A method of preparing an aerogel-open cell composite material of claim 1 comprising the steps of:
Forming a gel from a mixture comprising gel precursors and an open cell foam; and
drying the gel.
27 . The method of claim 26 comprising the step of dispensing an amount of fillers into a gel precursor solution, thereby forming said mixture.
28 . The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of dispensing the mixture comprising fillers and gel precursors, into an open cell foam.
29 . The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of dispensing the mixture comprising fillers and gel precursors, into an open cell foam wherein, said open cell foam has a pore size greater than 50 micron or said open cell foam is a coarse cell foam.
30 . The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of dispensing the mixture comprising fillers and gel precursors, into an open cell foam wherein, said open cell foam is a reticulated foam.
31 . The method of claim 26 further comprising the step of dispensing the mixture comprising fillers and gel precursors, into an open cell foam wherein, said open cell foam is a polyolefin foam or a polyurethane foam.
32 . The method of claim 26 wherein the gel is dried using a supercritical fluid.
33 . The method of claim 26 wherein the gel is dried using a supercritical carbon dioxide.
34 . A method of preparing an aerogel-open cell composite material of claim 1 comprising the steps of:
providing an open-cell foam in a sheet form;
combining an aerogel precursor with the open-cell foam;
gelling the precursor in the open-cell foam to form a gel sheet; and
drying the gel sheet.
35 . The method of claim 34 wherein drying is performed using supercritical fluids.
36 . The method of claim 34 further comprising the step of rolling the gel sheet into plurality of layers before drying.
37 . The method of claim 36 further comprising the step of providing an additional separator layer between gel sheet layers.
38 . The method of claim 36 wherein separator layer is permeable.
39 . The method of claim 36 wherein separator layer is impermeable.
40 . The method of claim 36 wherein separator layer is a fluid layer.
41 . A method of preparing an aerogel-open cell composite material of claim 1 comprising the steps of:
providing an open-cell foam of definite length in a sheet form;
rolling the foam into plurality of layers to make a preform;
combining an aerogel precursor with the open-cell foam in the preform;
gelling the precursor in the perform to make gel sheet in the form of plurality of layers; and
drying the gel sheet.
42 . The method of claim 41 wherein drying is performed using supercritical fluids.
43 . The method of claim 41 further comprising the step of providing an additional separator layer between gel sheet layers.
44 . The method of claim 43 wherein separator layer is permeable.
45 . The method of claim 43 wherein separator layer is impermeable.
46 . The method of claim 43 wherein separator layer is a fluid layer.