SiO2气凝胶纳米多孔结构的自组装过程模拟

基于分子动力学理论,模拟并计算了纳米多孔SiO2气凝胶的原子尺度模型和力学性能.SiO2气凝胶网络结构的自组装形成过程表明,当密度为0.078 g/cm3时,形成的结构以纳米团簇为主,难以形成连通的骨架结构;当密度为0.172 g/cm3及以上时,硅氧元素分布已扩展形成了连通的无定形骨架结构.通过对不同密度体系模型单轴施加应变并计算相应的应力值,得到应力-应变关系曲线,并依据弹性范围求得弹性模量.模拟结果表明,弹性模量与密度成一次线性关系,当气凝胶密度在0.078～0.443 g/cm3时,弹性模量为0.1265～0.7889 MPa.     

基于静电作用制备硅基气凝胶及其性能研究

针对第二类复合材料(基体与增强相间通过化学键连接)增强导致二氧化硅气凝胶密度及导热率升高等不足,利用带负电荷的二氧化硅气凝胶与带正电荷的聚合物间静电吸引作用制备二氧化硅气凝胶/聚合物杂化复合材料,分析基于静电作用的二氧化硅气凝胶的增强、透光与传热性能.研究表明,通过静电吸引作用在二氧化硅气凝胶骨架表面引入聚合物层,可以有效提高气凝胶材料的强度,聚合物的引入使气凝胶内部分微孔转变为中孔,同时由于静电吸引相界面的高透光和高热阻性质,使气凝胶复合材料基本保持原有的透光性能和隔热性能.     

聚氨酯增强二氧化硅气凝胶常压干燥制备及其性能

以正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)为硅源,3-氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷(APTES)为偶联剂,聚氨酯为增强相,经水解缩聚形成凝胶后通过常压干燥工艺制备聚氨酯增强二氧化硅复合气凝胶.采用傅立叶红外光谱对样品的化学结构进行表征,并通过扫描电镜、比表面积与孔径分析仪,万能试验机和接触角仪等对所制得气凝胶的微观形貌、孔结构,力学和疏水性性能进行了分析.结果表明,所制备的气凝胶的孔径分布范围为2.0～25.0 nm,是一种具有三维网状结构的介孔材料,并且具有良好的力学性能,15wt;聚氨酯增强的气凝胶的压缩模量达到4MPa,同时疏水性也得到了提高,其接触角为77.73°.     

HNTs/SiO2复合气凝胶制备及其性能研究

采用正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)为硅原,以硅烷改性的埃洛石纳米管(HNTs)为增强相,利用CO2超临界干燥技术制备具有优良力学和隔热性能的HNTs/SiO2复合气凝胶.利用傅立叶红外光谱、扫描电镜、比表面积与孔径分析仪、万能试验机和导热率测量仪等手段对HNTs改性后的表面状态、HNTs/SiO2复合气凝胶的微观形貌、孔结构、力学和导热性能进行了测试分析.结果表明:改性后的HNTs均匀分散到二氧化硅气凝胶基体中,并与SiO2纳米颗粒实现良好的结合,HNTs/SiO2复合气凝胶呈三维网络结构,当HNTs含量为15wt;时,平均孔径为10.47 nm;随着HNTs含量的增加,复合气凝胶的力学性能不断增强,同时其导热系数也不断增大,当HNTs含量为15wt;时,HNTs/SiO2复合气凝胶的抗压强度为0.85 MPa,导热系数为0.024 W/mK.     

碳气凝胶修饰SnSb复合负极材料的制备及性能研究

采用超临界干燥法制备了碳气凝胶( Carbon Aerogels,CA),然后通过简单的化学还原法制备CA/SnSb复合负极材料。采用XRD和SEM等手段对材料的结构及形貌进行了表征,利用恒电流充放电测试了材料的循环性能。研究结果表明,碳气凝胶表现出纳米多孔三维网络结构,当对SnSb合金采用碳气凝胶修饰后,纳米SnSb颗粒包含在碳气凝胶的网络骨架中,呈现出碳气凝胶和纳米SnSb合金颗粒相互交错分布的结构,极大改善了复合材料的团聚性。 CA/SnSb复合负极材料首次放电容量高达1120.2 mAh·g-1,循环50次后放电容量仍达到557.3 mAh· g-1,远高于未经碳气凝胶修饰的SnSb合金。循环性能的改善主要归因于碳气凝胶的引入,不仅极大的改善了复合材料的团聚现象,而且可以缓冲SnSb合金在充放电过程中体积变化。     

基于介孔二氧化硅包载白藜芦醇纳米体系的制备

本实验旨在构建一种介孔二氧化硅包载白藜芦醇的纳米体系,并通过扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、X射线衍射、N₂ 吸附-脱附、差热-热重分析等对包载白藜芦醇前后的纳米体系进行表征分析,探究其光、热稳定特性和体外不同pH 值缓冲液中的释放规律。结果表明,制备的介孔二氧化硅包载白藜芦醇纳米体系,其骨架呈交联网络结构,孔径、比表面积和孔容分别为10.16 nm、245.73 m²/g和0.79 cm³/g,负载量可达39.44%,且负载后其骨架结构未破坏,并有效提高了白藜芦醇的光、热稳定性。同时,经过纳米体系负载后的白藜芦醇2 h内释放速率在两种不同pH 值缓冲液中均可达80%以上。介孔二氧化硅包载白藜芦醇纳米体系性能较好,为白藜芦醇的进一步开发利用提供参考。     

大尺寸晶体快速生长理论与技术的研究进展

“如何突破大尺寸晶体材料的制备理论和技术”是中国科协发布的2021年度的十大前沿科学问题之一,揭示晶体生长机制和突破生长关键技术是大尺寸功能晶体发展的两个趋势。在原子分子尺度上,晶体生长可以是有势垒的热激活过程,也可以是无势垒的超快结晶过程,这与具体的体系以及晶面有关。从界面属性角度来看,光滑界面是以台阶拓展的方式生长;粗糙界面没有明显的固-液分层,通过局部原子固化进行生长。本文从晶体生长理论模型、生长技术及其应用实例,以及分子动力学方法在晶体生长中的应用等方面探讨了近些年大尺寸晶体快速生长理论和技术的研究进展。目前有多种方法制备大尺寸晶体,但普遍存在制备的晶体质量差和性能不稳定等问题。需要突破对晶体生长微观机制上的认识,建立机制与温度、流速等外界因素的内在联系。而利用机器学习力场以及分子动力学模拟方法,建立固-液界面,模拟晶体生长,将是探究晶体生长微观机制的一种有效方式。     

具有三维开放骨架结构的亚硝酸锌{[Zn(NO_2)_3]~-·H_3O~+·H_2O}_n的溶剂热合成与晶体结构

本文通过溶剂热法合成出一种具有三维开放骨架结构的亚硝酸锌化合物{[Zn(NO_2)_3]~-·H_3O~+·H_2O}_n(Zn1). 通过XRD、IR、拉曼光谱、TG和X射线单晶衍射对其结构进行了表征.X射线单晶衍射分析表明:该化合物属三方晶系,空间群为R-3c,晶胞参数a=b=c=0.8814(6) nm,α=β=γ=55.51(2)°,V=2.0394(2) nm~3.Z=12,R_ 1=0.0325,wR_ 2=0.0829,GOF=1.077.Zn1的三维开放骨架结构由NO-2~-的O原子连接邻近的Zn原子构成,沿[100]和[110]方向上呈现八元环孔道.     

双向有序Ti3C2Tx/rGO复合气凝胶的制备及其电化学性能的研究

近年来,二维材料MXene因其优异的电化学性能引起了人们的关注,被广泛应用于电化学储能领域。然而,在组装电极过程中,MXene纳米片往往会产生严重的自堆积效应从而大幅限制了其电化学性能。设计三维结构的气凝胶是解决MXene自堆积问题同时开发高性能MXene基超级电容器电极材料的关键。本文利用氧化石墨烯(GO)改善了Ti₃C₂T_x气凝胶的力学强度,并通过双向冷铸和冷冻干燥、温和还原的方法制备了具有双向有序结构的Ti₃C₂T_x/rGO复合气凝胶(A-TGA)。A-TGA具有较好的力学性能和导电性,因此可直接作为超级电容器的电极材料。同时,双向有序的独特结构为电解质离子提供了无阻碍的传输通道,大幅提升了气凝胶的电化学性能。A-TGA在电流密度为1 A·g^-1时的比电容为370 F·g^-1,在100 mV·s^-1扫速下经过5 000次循环后,电容保持率高达94%,表现出优异的循环稳定性。     

中介尺度Au纳米团簇凝固过程的分子动力学模拟

采用分子动力学模拟技术,研究了原子个数N=1088的Au纳米团簇的凝固过程的微观结构、热力学和动力学参数的变化.模型采用的是Johnson的EAM作用势.模拟结果表明:液态团簇在两种不同的冷速下冷却得到两种不同的固态组织:晶体团簇和非晶团簇.当冷速为1.5625×1013K/s时,能量随温度的变化呈线性关系,且偶分布函数的第二峰发生劈裂,体系形成非晶态;当冷速为1.5625×1012K/s时,能量-温度曲线上出现拐点,且偶分布函数显示明显的晶体峰特征,说明体系形成了晶体.另外,计算了不同冷速下原子的平均平方位移随温度的变化,发现原子位置的重排对冷却速度非常敏感.当冷速较快时,原子只在很小的范围内运动;而结晶过程是原子不断扩散重新排列的过程.     

A 3-D numerical heat transfer model for silica aerogels based on the porous secondary nanoparticle aggregate structure

A 3-D finite volume numerical model based on the porous secondary nanoparticle random aggregate structure was developed to predict the total thermal conductivity of silica aerogels. An improved 3-D diffusion-limited cluster–cluster aggregation (DLCA) method was used to generate an approximately real silica aerogel structure. The model includes the effects of the random and irregular nanoparticle aggregate structure for silica aerogels, solid–gas coupling, combined conduction and radiation, nanoparticle and pore sizes, secondary nanoparticle porosity and contact length between adjacent nanoparticles. The results show that the contact length and porosity of the secondary aerogel nanoparticle significantly affect the aerogel microstructure for a give density and, thus, greatly affect the total thermal conductivity of silica aerogels. The present model is fully validated by experimental results and is much better than the model based on a periodic cubic array of full density primary nanoparticles, especially for higher densities. The minimum total thermal conductivity for various silica aerogel microstructures can be well predicted by the present model for various temperatures, pressures and densities.     

Silica molecular dynamic force fields—A practical assessment

The purpose of this paper is to compare simple and efficient pair-wise force fields for silica glass and assess their applicability for use in large scale molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of laser damage mitigation. A number of pair-wise force fields have been shown to give the random tetrahedral network of silica glass. Further, potentials obtained by fitting quantum mechanical results exhibit many of the properties of silica such as the low thermal expansion and densification. However with these potentials densification is observed at temperatures much higher than experiment. We also show that the thermodynamic melting point of β-crystobalite similarly occurs at temperatures much higher than observed experimentally. Softer empirical potentials can be constructed that do give liquid properties at experimental temperatures. However in all cases the activation energies for diffusion are lower than the experimental activation energies for viscosity.     

Hydrophobic and thermal insulation properties of silica aerogel/epoxy composite

Silica aerogel/epoxy composite was prepared by dry mixing hydrophobic aerogels with epoxy powders and heat pressing method. The composite materials show a serviceability temperature up to 250 °C with low thermal conductivity (0.11–0.044 W/m k) and hydrophobic property (water contact angle of 117–140°). Transmission electron microscope photos proved that part of silica aerogels nanopores had been immersed by epoxy. Based on this phenomenon, an immersion model was build up to study the effect of immersion on the thermal insulation and hydrophobic properties. In addition a thermal conductivity prediction equation of aerogel/polymer system was obtained and confirmed by comparing the experimental data.     

Microstructural and physical properties of the ambient pressure dried hydrophobic silica aerogels with various solvent mixtures

The experimental results on the microstructural and physical properties of the ambient pressure dried hydrophobic silica aerogels with various solvent mixtures have been reported. The aerogels were prepared with sodium silicate precursor, ammonium hydroxide catalyst, trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) silylating agent, solvent mixture of methanol-isopropanol (MeOH/IPA) and various aprotic solvent mixtures namely, hexane and benzene (HB), hexane and toluene (HT), hexane and xylene (HX), heptane and benzene (HpB), heptane and toluene (HpT), heptane and xylene (HpX). The physical properties of the aerogels such as % of volume shrinkage, density, % of optical transmission, surface area, % of porosity, pore volume, thermal conductivity and heat capacities of the aerogels were studied. The hydrophobicity of the aerogels was studied by contact angle measurements. The HX and HpX aerogels have been found to be more hydrophobic (contact angle, θ > 155°) than the other aerogels. It has been observed that the % of weight increase is highest (1%) for the HT aerogels and lowest (0.25%) for HpX aerogels by keeping them at 70% humidity for 350 h. Further, the aerogels have been characterized by pore size distribution (PSD), Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric and differential thermal (TG-DGA) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The results have been discussed by taking into account the surface tension, vapor pressure, molecular weight and chain length of the solvents. Low density (0.051 g/cc), hydrophobic (165°), transparent (85%), low thermal conductive (0.059 W/m K), low heat capacity (180 kJ/m³ K) and highly porous (97.38%) silica aerogels were obtained with HpX solvent mixture.     

Simulation of the microstructural evolution of a polymer crosslinked templated silica aerogel under high-strain-rate compression

Surfactant-templated mesoporous silica aerogels (or nanofoams) with their entire skeletal framework nanoencapsulated conformally by a thin polyurea layer are emerging as materials with high specific strength and high energy absorption. In this paper a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar was used to investigate their mechanical behavior under dynamic compression at high strain rates. The evolution of the mesoporous structure under such dynamic impact conditions was simulated using the Material Point Method (MPM). The material point model was generated from X-ray micro-computed tomography whereas each voxel was converted to a material point corresponding to the local skeletal density of the material. Simulation results agree well with the experimental data, indicating that the MPM can effectively model the compression of complex mesoporous structures. Simulations indicate a nearly uniform deformation at all three stages of compression: the elastic region, compaction and the final densification due to the low ratio of pore size to wall thickness and random distribution of the pores. Simulations have also indentified the function of the conformal polymer coating as a reinforcing factor, showing that different porosities, obtained by varying the skeletal wall thickness, affect the local stress distribution. Eventually, simulations confirm that the stress-strain behavior of aerogels under compression follows a power-law relationship with the initial bulk density, consistent with experimental results.     

Large deformation of chlorotrimethylsilane treated silica aerogels

Silica aerogels were prepared through an acid-base process and surface modified with chlorotrimethylsilane. This novel application of a common non-crosslinking surface modification to improve mechanical properties allows the treated aerogels to deform plastically to compressive strains greater than 80% without macroscopic damage. This improvement in mechanical properties remains after heating in air at 500 °C for 3 h, as do residual organic groups. Heating at 700 °C for 1 h removes all organics and the aerogel behaves similar to the unmodified control. The treated aerogels also exhibit a greater resistance to sintering. Nitrogen adsorption measurements show a reduction in the number of micropores with surface modification. It is concluded that the organic monolayer increases the ductility of the silica network by filling and strengthening surface micropores that serve as crack initiators, and that these organics remain effective at elevated temperatures.     

Cost-effective synthesis of silica aerogels from fly ash via ambient pressure drying

Silica aerogels were synthesized from the industrial fly ash by ambient pressure drying method. The process consists of two stages, preparation of sodium silicate solution from fly ash by hydrothermal reaction with sodium hydroxide, and synthesis of porous silica aerogels from the obtained sodium silicate solution. Silica wet gels were formed by vitriol-catalysis or resin-exchange-alkali-catalysis of the obtained sodium silicate solution. The trimethylchlorosilane(TMCS)/ethanol(EtOH)/hexane mixed solution was used for solvent exchange/surface modification of the wet gel so as to obtain porous silica aerogels via ambient pressure drying. The results indicated that the synthesized silica aerogels were lightweight and hydrophobic. The BET specific surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter were 362.2-907.9 m² g^− 1, 0.738-4.875 cm³ g^− 1, and 7.69-24.09 nm respectively. Particularly, the synthesized silica aerogels by resin-exchange-alkali-catalysis method showed uniform mesoporous structure, and had much higher specific surface area (907.9 m² g^− 1) and pore volume (4.875 cm³ g^− 1) than that of by vitriol-catalysis process.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Silica Aerogel-Polymer Hybrid Materials

Abstract

Silica aerogel-based hybrid composites containing three different polymers such as poly(styrene) (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and PS-co-PMMA were synthesized by two steps: sol-gel reaction to form vinyl silica aerogels and radical polymerization to combine the silica aerogels with the polymers. The reactions were confirmed using FTIR and FE-SEM, showing successful polymerization in the surface of the silica aerogel network. Incorporation of the polymers into the silica aerogel allows for the enhancement of thermal stabilities. From dielectric measurement, the polymer hybridization leads to an increase in the static dielectric constant, compared to bare silica aerogel.     

Ultralow density silica aerogels prepared with PEDS

This paper deals with the synthesis of ultralow density silica aerogels using polyethoxydisiloxanes (PEDS) as the precursor via sol-gel process followed by supercritical drying using ethanol solvent extraction. Ultralow density silica aerogels with 5 mg/cc of density were made for the molar ratio by this method. A remarkable reduction in the gelation time was observed by the effect of the catalyst NH₄OH at room temperature. The microstructure and morphology of the ultralow density silica aerogels were characterized by the specific surface area, S_BET, SEM, TEM and the pore size distribution techniques. The results show that the diameter of the silica particles is about 13 nm and the pore size of the silica aerogels is about several nm. The specific surface area of the silica aerogel is 339 m²/g and the specific surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter decrease with increasing density of the silica aerogel.