SBIR Phase I: Defect-free manufacturing of ultra-clear monolithic silica aerogels for insulated glass units

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目推进了超透明，超绝缘气凝胶的开发。隔热玻璃制造商需要改进现有的双窗格窗户制造。 住宅隔热玻璃单元仅在北美就代表了20亿美元的市场。目前，美国的窗户每年冬天损失200亿美元的能源。在玻璃板之间夹一层气凝胶的双层玻璃窗可以大大提高隔热性能，因为气凝胶厚度仅为3 mm，使产品的隔热性能比充气双层玻璃窗高出50%，与三层玻璃产品相当。到2030年，采用该技术可以节省1.2夸脱BTU的成本效益。这项工作还延伸到其他市场，如用于制冷和烤箱的透明门，以及用于过程热的太阳能热接收器，这也代表了节能和可行的市场应用的重要机会。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在通过关注两个主要风险来解决将超级隔热气凝胶集成到中空玻璃单元中的关键技术障碍。首先，该项目将进一步提高气凝胶材料的光学透明度。人眼对透明介质中的雾度和缺陷高度敏感，虽然已经实现了满足住宅窗户市场最低要求的光学清晰度，但还需要进一步的改进和测试。通过优化溶液-凝胶化配方降低雾度，以及通过开发混合和成型策略消除表面缺陷的根本原因，将提高透明度。其次，广泛采用还需要将气凝胶直接并入绝缘玻璃单元中。将开发将气凝胶直接附着在玻璃上而不降低光学透明度的粘合方法，这将使操作简单并纳入现有的中空玻璃单元制造。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project advances the development of ultra-clear, super-insulating aerogels. Insulated glass manufacturers have a need for improvements to existing double-pane window manufacturing. Residential insulated glass units represent a $2 billion market in North America alone. Currently, windows in the U.S. lose $20 billion dollars in energy each winter. A double-pane window with a sheet of aerogel between glass panes can achieve a vastly improved insulation, as an aerogel thickness of just 3 mm enables a product 50% more insulating than gas-filled double-pane windows, comparable to triple-pane products. Adoption could enable cost-effective energy savings of 1.2 quadrillion BTUs by 2030. This work also extends to other markets, such as transparent doors for refrigeration and ovens, and solar thermal receivers for process heat, which also represent significant opportunities for energy savings and viable market applications.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to address key technical barriers for integration of super-insulating aerogels in window insulated glass units by focusing on two main risks. First, the project will further improve the optical clarity of the aerogel materials. The human eye is highly sensitive to haze and defects in transparent media, and although optical clarity meeting minimum requirements for the residential window market has been achieved, further improvement and testing are needed. Clarity will be improved by reducing haze through solution-gelation recipe optimization and by removing the fundamental causes of surface defects through development of mixing and molding strategies. Second, widespread adoption also requires straightforward incorporation of aerogel into insulated glass units. Bonding methods to attach aerogels directly to glass without reducing optical clarity will be developed, which will enable simple handling and incorporation into existing insulated glass unit manufacturing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.