Gas Pressure-Dependent Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Bimodal Xerogels

Measurements of the thermal conductivity were performed as a function of gas pressure from 10^–1 hPa up to 10⁵ hPa on several bimodal silica xerogels. The xerogels exhibit a mesopore and a macropore phase. The measurements were done using a hot-wire apparatus, which can do automated, gas pressure-dependent measurements of the thermal conductivity from 10^–3 up to 10⁵ hPa. Results were fitted with a bimodal gas pressure-dependent thermal conductivity model to gain information on the thermal conductivity of the materials, its various contributions and on structural parameters such as the two main pore sizes, the macro- and mesoporosities. The pore sizes and porosities were compared to values gained from mercury porosimetry and nitrogen adsorption measurements. The porosities from the thermal conductivity measurements are in very good agreement to the other measuring methods. The macropore sizes from the thermal conductivity measurements are mostly in agreement within the given uncertainty range and the mesopore sizes show a good estimate of the order of magnitude of the pores.