Fabrication of silica aerogel composite blankets from an aqueous silica aerogel slurry

Low-density silica aerogel composite blankets were successfully fabricated from silica aerogel slurries via an impregnation technique. Silica aerogel powder formed a stable slurry in a mixed ethanol/water solution with a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) binder. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated that the silica aerogel particles maintained their mesoporous and three-dimensional microstructure upon evaporation of the solvent. The obtained silica aerogel composite blankets had low densities (0.13 g cm−3), high silica aerogel contents (79%), and low thermal conductivities (18.92 mW m−1 K−1) compared to those of the polyethylene (PE) blanket.