Optimising Fully rPET-Sourced Aerogel Production Using a Sustainable Dissolution-Precipitation Approach.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Sustainable Chemistry
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Conventional thermal insulators often rely on energy-intensive production processes.
• Recycling poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) presents challenges in creating high-value materials.
• There is a growing need for sustainable alternatives in the insulation industry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sustainable method for producing aerogels from recycled PET (rPET).
• To optimize the dissolution-precipitation process for rPET aerogel production.
• To evaluate the thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting rPET aerogels.

Main Methods:

• A dissolution-precipitation process was optimized at room temperature.
• Design of Experiments methodology was employed to assess key factors (rPET concentration, co-solvent ratio, non-solvent quantity).
• Molecular dynamics simulations were used to understand the underlying phenomena.

Main Results:

• Optimized process reduced trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solvent volume by 42.5%.
• Achieved excellent bulk density values as low as 110 kg·m⁻³.
• Demonstrated thermal conductivity of 38 mW·m⁻¹·K⁻¹, comparable to commercial insulators.

Conclusions:

• rPET aerogels offer a sustainable and effective alternative to conventional thermal insulation materials.
• The optimized process enhances sustainability by reducing critical solvent usage.
• The material properties position rPET aerogels for practical applications in thermal insulation.