Preparation and characterization of silica aerogel/mesophase pitch derived carbon foam

Silica sol was synthetized via sol-gel method by TEOS and ethanol, while mesophase derived carbon foam was prepared via spontaneous foaming method from coal tar pitch as precursor. Then silica aerogel/mesophase derived carbon foam composite was obtained by immersion process at ambient pressure. The silica aerogel, mesophase derived carbon foam and silica aerogel/mesophase derived carbon foam composite were characterized by XRD, SEM, thermal-detector and universal testing machine. The results indicated that the aerogel/mesophase derived carbon foam composite showed good mechanical perfermance, and its thermal insulation property was better than single mesophase derived carbon foam. Potentially the silica aerogel/msophase derived carbon foam composite was expected to be applied as a novel thermal insulation material.