Metal Oxide-Silica Aerogel Spray Drying Shrinkage Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for preparing metal oxide-silica composite aerogels suffer from a shrinkage phenomenon during drying, leading to reduced specific surface area and pore volume, making them unsuitable for industrial applications and economically inefficient due to the need for large amounts of organic solvents.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the preparation of a metal oxide-silica composite wet gel by adding a metal ion solution and acid catalyst to a water glass solution, followed by spray drying with dry gas injection and hot air, which suppresses the shrinkage phenomenon and enhances pore characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If oven drying is used to prepare metal oxide-silica composite aerogel, then the drying process is simple, but the shrinkage phenomenon occurs leading to reduced specific surface area and pore volume
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional oven drying method (thermal field) with a spray drying method that utilizes atomization and rapid evaporation. The wet gel is sprayed into fine droplets which are then rapidly dried by hot air, substituting the slow heat conduction drying mechanism with a rapid evaporation-based mechanism that prevents shrinkage while maintaining pore structure integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from bulk drying (3D volume drying in an oven) to surface-area-based drying through spray atomization. By converting the wet gel into fine droplets and drying them in a dispersed state, the drying process occurs at the surface level of each droplet rather than from the interior, fundamentally changing the drying dimension and preventing uniform shrinkage.
2Manufacturing precision
If organic solvent washing is performed to suppress shrinkage, then shrinkage is reduced, but large amounts of organic solvent are required reducing economic efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the chemical method (organic solvent washing to reduce surface tension) with a physical method (spray drying with controlled evaporation). By using spray drying, the shrinkage suppression is achieved through controlled moisture removal rather than chemical modification, eliminating the need for large amounts of organic solvent while maintaining pore structure integrity.
3Use of energy by stationary object
If slow heat conduction drying is used, then energy consumption is low, but drying time increases and pore shrinkage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the phase transition of water from liquid to vapor through rapid evaporation during spray drying. By atomizing the wet gel into fine droplets and exposing them to hot air, the water rapidly evaporates from the surface of each droplet, dramatically reducing drying time while the controlled evaporation prevents pore shrinkage. This phase transition mechanism is more efficient than slow heat conduction drying.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method effectively prevents pore structure collapse, resulting in metal oxide-silica composite aerogels with higher specific surface area and better pore characteristics while reducing production costs and tap density.
Implementation Method 1
adding a metal ion solution and an acid catalyst to a water glass solution and performing a reaction to prepare a metal oxide-silica composite wet gel
Implementation Method 2
performing a reaction to prepare a metal oxide-silica composite wet gel
Implementation Method 3
spray drying the metal oxide-silica composite wet gel by injecting dry gas into a drying chamber and spraying and hot air drying the metal oxide-silica composite wet gel
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method of preparing a metal oxide-silica composite aerogel having a uniform particle size and excellent pore characteristics and a metal oxide-silica composite aerogel prepared thereby. The preparation method according to the present invention may not only have good economic efficiency because production costs are relatively reduced in comparison to the related art, but may also effectively prevent the collapse of a pore structure by suppressing a shrinkage phenomenon during drying. Thus, a metal oxide-silica composite aerogel prepared by the above preparation method may have higher specific surface area and better pore characteristics than a conventional metal oxide-silica composite aerogel prepared by oven drying while having low tap density.