Fabrication of cellulose-based aerogel for thermal and acoustic insulation applications

Abstract

Abstract A method to prepare aerogels from rice straw and polyvinyl alcohol in the presence of fiberglass and glutaraldehyde is herein reported. The morphology, pore structure and physical properties of the aerogels were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermal conductivity, water contact angle (WCA) measurements, oil adsorption and sound absorption measurements. The obtained aerogels should be considered as a promising material for upcoming applications, since it has high porosity (up to 93.72%), low density (0.083-0.127 g/cm3), super low thermal conductivity (0.032-0.048 W/mK), high Young modulus (0.201-1.207 MPa), high sound absorption (absorption coefficient of 0.87) and a good oil adsorption capacity (4.8 g/g).