• Energy Research

Silica aerogel materials are well recognized for their superinsulation performance and are regarded as one of the hot candidates to revolutionize building insulation. To date, high production cost related to exorbitant precursors as well as cumbrous multi-step hydrophobization process has often narrowed the field of applications. In this work, granular silica aerogel materials were synthesized by extracting SiO2 from recycled rich silicon coal gangue, followed by one-step hydrophobization and ambient pressure drying. Lightweight (about 0.16 g/cm3) and nanostructural aerogels were obtained through this route. They exhibit a 3D open porous microstructure with around 600 cm2/g surface area and 20 nm of the average pore diameter, thermal conductivity of 4-5 mm packed granules is 20-25 mW/(m·K), which was proved by both guarded hot plate and hot-wire transient methods. This study offers a new facile route for the synthesis of silica aerogel from recycled solid waste coal gangue and suggests a method, which may lead to a cost reduction in terms of industrial production.

Monitoring of ammonia in the human breath is of paramount importance to monitor diseases link to liver and kidney mulfunctioning. The present paper describes a solid-state optical ammonia sensor based on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between narrowly dispersed blue-emitting carbon nanodots (CNDs) as FRET donor and fluorescein as FRET acceptor. The fluorophores were physically entrapped in a close to superhydrophobic sol-gel matrix, in turn deposited on a PVDF-HFP electrospun fiber membrane. The sensor shows a linear calibration with a remarkably low limit of detection, i.e., 110 ppb, and adequate reproducibility up to six N2/NH3 cycles.

AbstractAlthough the application of internal insulation to existing perimeter walls poses significant challenges in terms of building physics and loss of habitable space, it is sometimes an inevitable choice because of practical or legislative constraints. Innovative solutions are then required to deliver satisfying performances and reduce nuisance to inhabitants of residential buildings in case they are going to remain in their flats during the retrofit works.Three systems for inner thermal retrofitting purposes have been designed and produced as prototypes. Two of them are composed by silica aerogel containing fibrous material: the first one is a rigid flat laminated panel, the second one is a rollable solution with a fabric finishing layer. The third insulating system is a perlite based board with a hydrophobic layer. All the materials composing the retrofit solutions have been characterized by means of laboratory tests in order to measure their main hygrothermal properties. In fact, some parameters are fundamental for determining the hygrothermal performance of the composite systems: thermal conductivity, at dry and wet state (moisture dependant), water vapour diffusion resistance factor, hygroscopic sorption at isotherm condition and water absorption coefficient. All those measured data were necessary for optimizing the solutions, guaranteeing energy efficiency and vapour open layers to systems that are intended for installation on existing walls.

In this study, Cu-doped ZnO aerogel nanoparticles with a 4% copper concentration (Cu4ZO) were synthesized using a sol–gel method, followed by supercritical drying and heat treatment. The subsequent fabrication of Cu4ZO ceramics through Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with EDS, and impedance spectroscopy (IS) across a frequency range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz and temperatures from 270 K to 370 K. The SPS–Cu4ZO sample exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure with an average crystallite size of approximately 229 ± 10 nm, showcasing a compact structure with discernible pores. The EDS spectrum indicates the presence of the base elements zinc and oxygen with copper like the dopant element. Remarkably, the material displayed distinct electrical properties, featuring high activation energy values of about 0.269 ± 0.021 eV. Complex impedance spectroscopy revealed the impact of temperature on electrical relaxation phenomena, with the Nyquist plot indicating semicircular arc patterns associated with grain boundaries. As temperature increased, a noticeable reduction in the radius of these arcs occurred, coupled with a shift in their center points toward the axis center, suggesting a non-Debye-type relaxation mechanism. Dielectric analyses revealed a temperature-driven evolution of losses, emphasizing the material’s conductivity impact. Non-Debye-type behavior, linked to ion diffusion, sheds light on charge storage dynamics. These insights advance potential applications in electronic devices and energy storage.

The functionality of biopolymer aerogels is inherently linked to its microstructure, which in turn depends on the synthesis protocol. Detailed investigations on the macroscopic size change and nanostructure formation during chitosan aerogel synthesis reveal a new aspect of biopolymer aerogels that increases process flexibility. Formaldehyde-cross-linked chitosan gels retain a significant fraction of their original volume after solvent exchange into methanol (50.3 %), ethanol (47.1 %) or isopropanol (26.7 %), but shrink dramatically during subsequent supercritical CO2 processing (down to 4.9 %, 3.5 % and 3.7 %, respectively). In contrast, chitosan gels shrink more strongly upon exchange into n-heptane (7.2 %), a low affinity solvent, and retain this volume during CO2 processing. Small-angle X-ray scattering confirms that the occurrence of the volumetric changes correlates with mesoporous network formation through physical coagulation in CO2 or n-heptane. The structure formation step can be controlled by solvent-polymer and polymer-drying interactions, which would be a new tool to tailor the aerogel structure.

Abstract In the context of increasing energy costs and the need for global reduction of CO2 emissions, the development of superinsulation materials for the construction sector allows the design of low-energy buildings. Since still being in an experimental or at early-commercial stage, R&D of these materials focused on its final application is required, to accelerate access to the market for renovation of the building stock where space is a critical metric. In this paper, the experimental assessment of the thermal performance of a novel ambient pressure dried silica aerogel based composite is presented. In order to provide assessments at both, material and system levels, stress-strain tests, hot plate measurements, as well as full scale tests under realistic boundary conditions were conducted. The overall results are that this material provides good insulation properties (thermal conductivity in the range of 0.015–0.018 W/mK), along with sufficient mechanical properties, and allows for the creation of superinsulating assemblies even at small wall thickness.

Hydrophobic wrinkled silica nanoparticles (WSNs) were obtained by surface functionalization with perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PDTES) by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Surface functionalization was made to design a hydrophobic surface to immobilize lipase in its open active conformation by interfacial activation. Moreover, to modulate the closed/open form equilibrium, favouring the open conformation, n-hexane was added to the water/lipase solution, creating a micro-oily environment. Physicochemical characterization of supports was carried out by solid state Si nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, contact angle (CA) measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Three different supports for physical immobilization of lipase were prepared, differing in the degree of hydrophobicity. The effect of the different hydrophobicity and of the addition of n-hexane on the adsorption of lipase was evaluated. The hyperactivation of the best biocatalyst was tested in the hydrolysis and transesterification of sunflower seed oil and compared to free lipase. The reaction yields were 87% and 75% respectively for hydrolysis, and 93% and 56% respectively for transesterification. The results suggest that both the hydrophobicity of the support and the addition of n-hexane favour the adsorption of lipase in the active conformation.