Zirconia aerogel (ZrO2 aerogel) industry has high technical barriers and market share needs to be improved

Zirconia aerogel, also known as ZrO2 aerogel, refers to a lightweight porous material with a nanopore structure based on zirconia. Zirconia aerogel has the characteristics of ultra-high temperature resistance, high melting point, controllable nanoscale structure, high porosity, and high specific surface area. It has broad application prospects in the fields of batteries, catalysts, and thermal insulation materials.

The technical barriers of the zirconia aerogel industry are relatively high, and alcohol-water heating method, sol-gel method and electrolysis method are the main preparation methods of zirconia aerogel. The alcohol-water heating method refers to using inorganic zirconium salt as raw material, making the inorganic zirconium salt and alcohol-water dissolve under heating conditions, and then drying to obtain the finished product. This method is an emerging preparation method for zirconia aerogel; sol-gel method It is the traditional preparation method of zirconium oxide aerogel, which refers to using the inorganic zirconium salt zirconyl nitrate as the precursor and going through processes such as hydrolysis, polycondensation, aging, and drying to obtain the finished product. The electrolysis method has the advantages of mild reaction conditions and low energy consumption. In the future, It is expected to become the mainstream preparation method of zirconia aerogel.

Drying is a key link in the production of zirconia aerogels, including normal pressure drying, supercritical drying, etc. Atmospheric pressure drying does not require the use of an autoclave, and has the advantages of low production cost and high safety. However, the operation process is relatively complex and has not been widely used. Supercritical drying is a commonly used drying method in the production of zirconia aerogels. It first removes the desiccant. The parameters are raised to the supercritical range and then the drying operation is performed. This method has the advantages of convenient operation and high technological maturity, but the production cost is relatively high.

According to the “2023-2028 China Zirconia Aerogel (ZrO2 Aerogel) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center >》shows that in recent years, my country’s airgel industry has been booming thanks to the growth in downstream demand. In 2022, my country’s airgel material output will reach 151,000 cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%. Zirconia aerogel is a subdivided product of airgel. Due to factors such as high technical barriers and high production costs, its market share is low, and the industry has huge development potential. In the future, as the technology develops and matures, the production cost of zirconia airgel will be further reduced, and its market share is expected to increase by then.

Zirconia aerogel has broad application prospects in the fields of batteries, catalysts, and thermal insulation materials. In the battery field, zirconia aerogel can be used as an electrode material for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and dye-sensitized solar cells; in the catalyst field, zirconia aerogel can improve the high-temperature stability of chemical catalysts.

Industry analysts said that the application prospects of zirconia airgel are good and the industry has huge development potential. Compared with silica aerogel, my country’s zirconia aerogel market share is lower. In recent years, Chinese enterprises and scientific research institutions have continued to increase research on the properties and preparation methods of zirconia aerogels. In the future, with in-depth research and technological advancement, its market space will be further expanded.