Development of adiabatic foam using sodium silicate modified by boric acid

Abstract

Adiabatic foam has been successfully prepared through sintering sodium silicate which is modified by boric acid. The effect of the sintering temperature, boric acid content and modulus of sodium silicate on the thermal conductivity, density, compression strength and microstructure of the adiabatic foam was studied in detail. In the sintering process, B3+ ion can take the place of the Si4+ ion by incorporating into the Si–O–Si structure via Si–O–B bridges, increasing the chemical stability of the adiabatic foam. High temperature, low boric acid content and low modulus of sodium silicate can reduce the thermal conductivity, density and compression strength. In order to meet the application of exterior wall thermal insulation, 450–500 °C of the sintering temperature, 18–24 g boric acid per 600 g sodium silicate solution, and 2.5–2.8 modulus of sodium silicate are chosen. The samples with thermal conductivity less than 0.044 W/m·K, density less than 100 kg/m3 and compression strength more than 0.7 MPa are obtained.