Flame aerosol synthesis of hollow alumina nanoshells for application in thermal insulation

Liu, Shuo; Shah, Mihir; Rao, Satyarit; An, Lu; Mohammadi, Mohammad Moein; Kumar, Abhishek; Ren, Shenqiang; Swihart, Mark T.

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2021.131273

Flame aerosol synthesis of hollow alumina nanoshells for application in thermal insulation

Journal Article · Tue Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Chemical Engineering Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.131273· OSTI ID:1836830

Liu, Shuo ^[1]; Shah, Mihir ^[2]; Rao, Satyarit ^[2]; An, Lu ^[2]; Mohammadi, Mohammad Moein ^[2]; Kumar, Abhishek ^[2]; Ren, Shenqiang ^[2]; Swihart, Mark T. ^[2]

State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, NY (United States); University at Buffalo (SUNY)
State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, NY (United States)

Commercial implementation of hollow nanoshell materials is often limited by difficult scale-up and high cost. Here we present a scalable, continuous, and potentially low-cost route to hollow nanostructured materials using a High Temperature Reducing Jet flame aerosol reactor. The key advantage of this process over traditional flame aerosol synthesis methods is separation of flame chemistry and particle formation, which allows production of hollow nanoshells from an aqueous salt solution without any template or surfactant. We produced amorphous hollow alumina with an average diameter of 181 nm and shell thickness below 10 nm, and demonstrated the generality of the method by also producing hollow SiO₂, ZrO₂, Ga₂O₃, and Co₂O₃. We characterized the morphology, phase transition, thermal stability, and thermal conductivity of the flame-made hollow alumina by electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and thermal analysis methods. As a prototypical application, we incorporated hollow alumina into thermal insulation, combining it with common fiberglass insulation to reduce the thermal conductivity by 30% relative to pure fiberglass, to 0.028 W m^-1 K^-1 while maintaining robust fire-resistance and elasticity.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008675

OSTI ID:: 1836830

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1809902
OSTI ID: 1903557

Journal Information:: Chemical Engineering Journal, Journal Name: Chemical Engineering Journal Vol. 428; ISSN 1385-8947

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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