Facile preparation of nano-SiO2 composites with excellent high-temperature thermal insulation performance

Inorganic thermal insulation materials can greatly reduce heat loss from high-temperature equipment, thereby supporting energy-saving technologies. Among these nano-SiO2 composites have promising application potential, which is limited by their existing preparation methods. This study aims to develop a low-cost high-performance thermal insulator. Nano-SiO2 composites were prepared by the wet impregnation of glass fibre felt with nano-SiO2 aqueous slurry and ambient pressure drying. The density of the composite linearly increased from 0.17 to 0.24 g/cm3 when the solid content of the slurry was increased from 5% to 15%. As the density of the composite increased, the thermal conductivity at 300–700 °C decreased. The introduction of SiC to the composites significantly improved their thermal insulation performance. The composite with SiC exhibited a thermal conductivity of 0.1334 W/(m·K) at 700 °C, which is better than its commercial counterpart of SiO2 aerogel felt. The rear surface temperatures of the composites at 700 °C with different pressures of 0.01–0.1 MPa were investigated to comprehensively understand the thermal insulation performances. Overall, a facile, efficient, safe, and eco-friendly preparation for nano-SiO2 composites have good prospect in the field of industrial energy saving.