Aerogel is a kind of nano-porous material with low density and high porosity, which was first made by American scientist S.Kistler in 1931. The pore size is 1 ~ 1 nm, and the lowest thermal conductivity can reach .12 W/(m k). It is recognized as the lowest thermal conductivity solid material and the lightest solid at present, and its excellent physical and chemical properties have broken more than ten Guinness World Records.
Aerogels have many reputations, such as "blue smoke", "frozen smoke", "the ultimate thermal insulation material" and "super sponge", which all reflect their excellent performance. As early as 1993, NASA in the United States had applied aerogels to various fields of aerospace.
(1) Military and aerospace fields
Compared with traditional thermal insulation materials, aerogel materials can achieve equivalent thermal insulation effect with lighter mass and smaller volume. This feature makes it have a decisive advantage in the field of aviation and aerospace applications. At present, it is mainly used in insulating materials of spacesuits and aircraft insulation.
(2) Thermal insulation in industry and buildings
In electric power, petrochemical industry, chemical industry, metallurgy, building materials industry and other industrial fields, there are a large number of thermal equipment. Among them, due to the special parts and environment of some equipment, limited by weight, volume or space, this efficient super thermal insulation material is needed;
(3) The field of solar water heaters
The efficient insulation of solar water heaters and other heat collection devices is the key factor to further improve the energy utilization rate and practicality of solar devices. Aerogel materials are applied to water storage tanks, pipes and collectors of water heaters, which have higher thermal efficiency and are more effective than the existing solar collectors.
Bonami, the earliest, largest and most powerful manufacturer of silica nanoporous super thermal insulation materials in China, is a high-tech enterprise integrating research, development, production and sales of aerogels and their composite materials. Aerogels are widely used in all walks of life from raw materials, powders, crystals, felts, to daily necessities, industrial products, textiles and other applications.