Aerogel

What Silica Aerogel Is

Silica aerogel is a nanoporous solid in which the great majority of the volume is air held inside a rigid, open silica network. Because heat has to travel through a structure with extremely fine pores and a very large internal surface area, conduction, convection and radiative transfer are all strongly suppressed, which is why aerogel thermal conductivity sits close to that of still air. The material is inorganic and non-combustible, and the grades supplied here are hydrophobic, so they suit moisture-exposed insulation systems as well as dry ones.

Aerogel Powder or Aerogel Paste

Both products use the same nanoporous silica and differ in the form in which they are supplied, which is what determines how they are dosed into a formulation.

• SiO₂ Aerogel Powder — a lightweight nanoporous additive for coatings, composites, fire-protection systems and building thermal-management products. Typical properties: density 40–150 kg/m³, particle size 5–100 µm, specific surface area 600–1200 m²/g and thermal conductivity 0.013–0.018 W/(m·K). It is used where the aerogel is dosed as a functional filler.
• SiO₂ Aerogel Paste — a high-solids, water-based aerogel dispersion supplied as a ready-to-formulate paste of aerogel powder in water, with a density of 0.50 ± 0.02 kg/L and volume solids of 70–72%. Because the powder is already dispersed, the paste reduces airborne dust during handling and supports more uniform distribution in compatible formulations.

Where Aerogel Insulation Is Used

Typical applications include thermal-insulation coatings and functional composite systems for industrial equipment, pipelines and buildings, plus fire-protection and moisture-resistant systems — anywhere low thermal conductivity and limited installation space both matter.

Not sure whether powder or paste suits your formulation? Tell us the coating system and the target thermal performance and we will advise on the appropriate grade.