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Preparation of tetraethoxysilane-based silica aerogels with polyimide cross-linking from 3, 3′, 4, 4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4, 4′-oxydianiline

  • Review Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for energy, environment and building applications
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Abstract

Polyimide cross-linked silica aerogels with different weight percentages of polyimide were prepared through sol–gel technology and supercritical CO2 fluid drying technology. Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) was used as a silica source precursor, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) end-capped polyimide was used as a cross-linking agent, derived from 3, 3′, 4, 4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 4, 4′-oxydianiline (ODA). The acid produced during the imidization process catalyzed the hydrolysis reaction without additional catalyst. After condensation reaction catalyzed by ammonium hydroxide solution, the polyimide cross-linked silica gels were obtained and then dried in supercritical CO2. The polyimide cross-linked silica aerogels have low density (0.132~0.187 g/cm3), high specific surface area (623–741 m2/g), low thermal conductivity (0.0306~0.0347 W/m K at room temperature), relatively high compressive strength (1.03~3.82 MPa) and high thermal decomposition temperature (360 °C). This research provided a simple and efficient method that used the polyimide as a strengthening phase to improve the mechanical properties of TEOS-based silica aerogels.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51702364) and Independent Project of Naval University of Engineering, China (Grant No. 425517K152).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Power Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, 430033, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Zhifang Fei, Zichun Yang, Guobing Chen & Kunfeng Li

  2. Institute of High Temperature Structural Composite Materials of Naval Ship, Naval University of Engineering, 430033, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Zhifang Fei, Zichun Yang, Guobing Chen & Kunfeng Li

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  1. Zhifang Fei
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  2. Zichun Yang
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Correspondence to Zhifang Fei.

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Fei, Z., Yang, Z., Chen, G. et al. Preparation of tetraethoxysilane-based silica aerogels with polyimide cross-linking from 3, 3′, 4, 4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4, 4′-oxydianiline. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 85, 506–513 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-017-4566-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-017-4566-x

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