Preparation of carbon/silica composite aerogel and application of fire insulation

In order to improve the disadvantages of aerogel brittleness and easy structural destruction during drying, carbon/silica dual network aerogel composites were constructed by copolymerizing carboxylated carbon nanotubes and tetraethyl orthosilicate decomposition products on chitosan templates. The composites were characterized by microscopic morphology and structural properties. The results show that the bulk carbon/silica aerogel composites can be prepared by freeze-drying through the reinforcement of chitosan templates and carbon nanotubes. The N₂ adsorption and desorption curves of the composites show a type IV curve. The thermal conductivity of the material is only 0.0375 W/(m*K) at higher temperatures, which does not change much compared to that at room temperature (0.0312 W/(m*K)). (paper)