Microwave heating technology is known as an alternative to traditional gas and electric heating sources. In this work, mesoporous methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogels were prepared via a sol-gel process accompanied by microwave heating technology, and microwave heating was used in the gelation of sol and the drying of wet gels, respectively. The effects of hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) as a surfactant and template, hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a catalyst, ethanol as a solvent, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a gelation agent, and microwave power on the pore structure of as-prepared MSQ aerogels were investigated in detail. Microwave heating at low power results in the acceleration of sol-gel transition and achieves the gelation within a few minutes. Appropriate amounts of chemical reagents and microwave heating at high power allow the preparation of mesoporous MSQ aerogels with a BET-specific surface area of 681.6 m2·g-1 and a mesopore size of 19 nm, and the resultant MSQ aerogel still has a BET specific surface area as high as 134 m2·g-1 after heat treatment at 600 °C for 2 h, showing high thermal stability. The MSQ aerogels/fibre composite possesses a low thermal conductivity of 0.039 W/(m·k)-1, displaying good thermal insulation. Microwave heating technology is a promising heating method for the preparation of other aerogels.
Keywords: MSQ aerogels; microwave drying; sol–gel.