Staker Jacob, Scheiman Daniel A, Mather Janice, Stokes Jamesa L, Guo Haiquan
Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Universities Space Research Association, Cleveland, OH 44135, USA.
Gels. 2025 Jun 18;11(6):467. doi: 10.3390/gels11060467.
Aerogels have the potential for usage in many daily and high-tech aerospace applications. Silica aerogels are fragile, while organic aerogels are much tougher, but they are both generally synthesized using toxic solvents. Biodegradable aerogels, if they possess similar properties as polymer aerogels, could be widely utilized in many aerospace applications and offer environmental benefits. In this work, potato starch aerogels were systematically studied. The potato starch concentration, the amount of plasticizer (glycerol), and an acid source (acetic acid) were varied. The relationship of the precursors on potato starch aerogel's properties, such as density, shrinkage, porosity, BET surface area, mechanical properties, and thermal conductivities, were researched. The resulting potato starch aerogels possess suitable density, Young's modulus, and thermal conductivity for use in many aerospace applications.
气凝胶有潜力应用于许多日常和高科技航空航天领域。二氧化硅气凝胶很脆弱，而有机气凝胶则坚韧得多，但它们通常都是使用有毒溶剂合成的。如果可生物降解气凝胶具有与聚合物气凝胶相似的性能，那么它们可以广泛应用于许多航空航天领域，并带来环境效益。在这项工作中，对马铃薯淀粉气凝胶进行了系统研究。改变了马铃薯淀粉浓度、增塑剂（甘油）用量和酸源（乙酸）。研究了前驱体与马铃薯淀粉气凝胶性能之间的关系，如密度、收缩率、孔隙率、BET表面积、机械性能和热导率。所得的马铃薯淀粉气凝胶具有适合许多航空航天应用的密度、杨氏模量和热导率。
