Dispersion of polymeric-coated–silica aerogel particles in unsaturated polyester composites: Effects on thermal-mechanical properties

ABSTRACT

The thermal-mechanical properties of unsaturated polyester (UP) composite were enhanced by the dispersion of silica aerogel (SA) with preserved pores. Low-cost SA was prepared from rice husk via the sol-gel process and ambient pressure drying. A new method was proposed to encapsulate the hydrophobic aerogel surface pores with hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film using the fluidized-bed coating process. The dispersion of PVA-coated aerogel with preserved pores in the polyester matrix resulted in an increase of specific compressive strength (44.1 MPa · cm³ g⁻¹), thermal insulation (0.23 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹), and thermal stability (T_onset = 310°C), but decreased the glass transition temperature (T_g = 260°C).

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Polymer matrix composites
• silica aerogel
• thermomechanical properties
• unsaturated polyester resin

Additional information

Funding

This work is part of the research programs under Research University Grant Scheme with project number 09H81 and E-Science Fund with project number 4S132, which are financed by Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) via Research Management Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.