| Summary: | In this study, we investigated the influence of the addition of carbon materials on the heat resistance and flame retardancy of silica xerogels. A mixed dispersion prepared by adding 0.1 to 2.5 wt% each of the carbon materials, graphene oxide (GO), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS), and carbon black (CB) to waterglass (SiO2 6%) was used as the raw material. By adding acid to this dispersion, a sol-gel reaction was carried out and the hydrogel obtained was hydrophobized with hydrochloric acid and a mixed solution of siloxane/isopropylalcohol . Finally, novel carbon-silica xerogel composites (SX-Carbon-X) were prepared via ambient pressure drying. Similarly, glass-fiber-reinforced silica xerogel composite sheets (GFR-SX-Carbon-X) were prepared by impregnating glass fibers with sol. The bulk densities of the samples obtained ranged from 0.204 to 0.217 g/cm3, their thermal conductivities ranged from 0.0187 to 0.0203 W/(m · K). As the amount of carbon material added was increased, the thermal decomposition temperature of the SX-Carbon-X shifted to higher temperatures. In the cone calorimeter test of GFR-SX-Carbon-X, moreover, adding at least 0.5% of the carbon material significantly reduced the combustion time and the peak heat release rate (PHRR), and the flame retardancy improved remarkably.
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