Hollow Silica Particles: A Novel Strategy for Cost Reduction

Thermal insulation materials are highly sought after for applications such as building envelopes, refrigerators, cryogenic fuel storage chambers, and water supply piping. However, current insulation materials either do not provide sufficient insulation or are costly. A new class of insulation materials, hollow silica particles, has attracted tremendous attention due to its potential to provide a very high degree of thermal insulation. However, current synthesis strategies provide hollow silica particles at very low yields and at high cost, thus, making the particles unsuitable for real-world applications. In the present work, a synthesis process that produces hollow silica particles at very high yields and at a lower cost is presented. The effect of an infrared heat absorber, carbon black, on the thermal conductivity of hollow silica particles is also investigated and it is inferred that a carbon black–hollow silica particle mixture can be a better insulating material than hollow silica particles alone.

Ethylene-bridged polysilsesquioxane/hollow silica particle hybrid film for thermal insulation material

Ethylene-bridged polysilsesquioxane/hollow silica particle hybrid films were prepared by the sol–gel reaction. The hybrid film containing hollow silica particles exhibited good thermal insulation properties and thermal stability.

Hollow Silica Particles: Recent Progress and Future Perspectives

Hollow silica particles (or mesoporous hollow silica particles) are sought after for applications across several fields, including drug delivery, battery anodes, catalysis, thermal insulation, and functional coatings. Significant progress has been made in hollow silica particle synthesis and several new methods are being explored to use these particles in real-world applications. This review article presents a brief and critical discussion of synthesis strategies, characterization techniques, and current and possible future applications of these particles.

Hybrid hollow silica particles: synthesis and comparison of properties with pristine particles

Hybrid hollow silica particles, which show different properties compared to their pristine counterparts, have been synthesized.

Low cost and scalable method for modifying surfaces of hollow particles from hydrophilic to hydrophobic

A low cost strategy is developed for hydrophobization of hollow silica particles without compromising with their structural integrity.