A comparison between the effects of hydrophobic and hydrophilic silica aerogel fillers on tensile and thermal properties of unsaturated polyester composites

In this study, a low-cost thermoset such as unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) was used for the preparation of lightweight and thermal insulation polymer composite using rice husk-derived silica aerogel (SA) as filler. For the first time, hydrophilic and hydrophobic silica aerogel (SA) of similar physical properties were added to the UPR to study the effects of SA surface polarity on the mechanical tensile and thermal properties of the...