The world of textile fibers is always undergoing rapid changes, and our country, as a major country in textile and clothing production and processing, is always the first to feel this change.
What are airgel fibers?
Aerogel fiber is a new type of functional fiber that has good warmth retention, hygroscopicity, breathability and other characteristics. The so-called airgel fiber, as the name suggests, refers to fiber materials for textile and clothing made of airgel. As we all know, gel is an elastic solid in which colloidal particles in a sol or solution form a spatial network structure under the action of a dispersion medium. Those that use water as the dispersion medium are called hydrogels; those that use gas as the dispersion medium are called aerogels.
Aerogel is the smallest known solid material in the world. Since most of its internal components are gas, it looks like a cloud. Therefore, aerogel is also called “solid smoke”. The birth of aerogel originated from the idea of expanding scientists to replace the water in jelly (hydrogel) with gas.
Air is the best thermal insulation material. For example, the fluffiness of down is an important criterion for testing its quality. More than 90% of airgel is air, so airgel fibers have extremely high thermal insulation properties. According to relevant experimental data, the thermal insulation value of polyester airgel fiber far exceeds the national standard for extremely low thermal conductivity: ≤0.02W/(MK).
Super thermal insulation properties of aerogel
At the same time, Qi Gel fibers are also lightweight. Because the specific gravity of airgel is very light, between 10-30 kilograms per cubic meter, the airgel yarn is actually very light. Compared with ordinary edible fiber, its thickness is only one-half, and its density is as low as 0.003 grams per square centimeter.
In addition, the airgel fiber is filled with nano-air masses. The specific surface area of the fiber is much larger than that of porous hollow microfiber. It has good hygroscopicity and good air permeability. At the same time, it is more convenient for the later stages of printing and dyeing in the downstream of the industrial chain.
Applications of airgel fibers
with Airgel fibers with extremely high thermal insulation, moisture absorption and breathability properties also have a wide range of applications. Obviously, it is used to make cold-proof clothing, sportswear, etc. With the further development of textile fiber technology, products made of aerogel fibers, such as parts of space suits, can be applied to the aerospace field.
People who like outdoor sports, mountain climbing, adventure, and time travel cannot avoid the issue of their own safety in complex outdoor environments, especially at low temperatures. According to laboratory data, the thermal insulation performance of airgel fiber at low temperatures is 2.8 times that of cotton, and its thermal enthalpy value can reach 162
J/g, it can provide thermal insulation performance for a long time in extreme environments ranging from minus 196 degrees Celsius to above zero 300 degrees Celsius. The airgel fiber developed by Qingdao Zhenghongxiang Technology Co., Ltd. is processed into cold-proof clothing, which can also play a role in keeping warm in extremely cold temperatures.
At the same time, the extremely high thermal insulation, moisture absorption and breathability of airgel fibers are also very suitable for application in products such as thermal underwear. The biggest problem with ordinary thermal underwear is that they are warm but not breathable. winter fromWhen the temperature rises from outdoors and indoors, it is difficult for the moisture generated by the human body to be discharged, resulting in a significant reduction in the user’s comfort.
Aerogel fiber is widely used. In addition to outdoor clothing and thermal underwear, it can also be used in body armor, tents, sleeping bags, kneepads, yoga clothes, etc. field.
Aerogel fiber market
From At present, the use of airgel fibers in the textile and apparel market is mainly focused on cold-proof and warm products in winter. Traditionally, this clothing segment has been mostly occupied by cotton, down, wool, cashmere, acrylic and other products.
People in the industry know that the thermal insulation performance of fiber materials is directly proportional to the still air content inside the fiber materials, inversely proportional to the fiber diameter, and inversely proportional to the overall material density Inversely proportional. The airgel fiber developed by Qingdao Zhenghongxiang Technology Co., Ltd. has an ultra-high porosity of 98% and a high specific surface area. Therefore, it is theoretically the fiber for textile and clothing with the best thermal insulation effect at present. Material. As a result, airgel fiber may also be a direction for the development of thermal fiber in the future.
At present, airgel fiber is a new type of textile fiber, and consumers at home and abroad are not very familiar with this fiber and its textile and clothing products. Precisely because of this, the market for textile and apparel products produced and processed using aerogel fibers developed by Qingdao Zhenghongxiang Technology Co., Ltd. is still a blue ocean, which can provide unlimited possibilities for the product development of related textile and apparel companies.
