Textural and thermal conductivity properties of a low density mesoporous silica material

In this study, the pore structure, tapped density and thermal conductivity properties of a new type of nanoporous silica material have been studied. We have applied nitrogen physisorption, high resolution scanning microscopy and Transient Plane Source thermal conductivity measurements to investigate these properties. The new mesoporous silica SNP have large BET surface area, 400-439 m2 g−1 and possess high porosity in the range of 95-97%. The results further show pore diameter centred at 43 nm or 47 nm for the two materials studied. Tapped densities as low as 0.077 g/cm3 have so far been obtained and the thermal conductivity of these materials has been measured to 0.0284 and 0.0294 W (m K)−1 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The effects of tapped density, pore size diameter and particle morphology on thermal conductivity are discussed.