Abstract
Silica aerogels/acrylic resin composites were prepared to develop a heat insulating material. Silica aerogels are synthesized from TMOS and its oligomer. Silica aerogels from TMOS have uniform particle and pore sizes. Although those from the oligomer have a distributed particle and pore sizes, it was found that the silica aerogel with low thermal conductivity can be obtained from the oligomer by optimizing the reaction conditions. The mixture of the silica aerogel and an acrylic resin has a high viscosity and the composite film cannot be obtained. Additionally, the surface modification of silica aerogel was carried out. A composite film was prepared from a mixture of surface modified silica aerogel and acrylic resin. The addition of the surface modified silica aerogel reduces the thermal conductivity by about 44 per cent.
