Beatriz Merillas Valero

Highly Transparent Polyurethane-Based Aerogels: Effect Of Catalyst On The Porous Structure And Final Properties

Abstract: Transparent polyurethane aerogels with ultralow densities and high porosities have been synthesized for the first time. The effect of five different catalyst amounts on the final properties of the aerogels is analyzed. It has been found that increasing the catalyst amount leads to higher porosities and larger particles sizes. This structure has been proved to affect the transmittance of the produced aerogels directly. Thus, maximum transmittance values have been obtained for the lowest catalyst amount.

Biography: Beatriz Merillas Valero graduated in Chemistry at the University of Valladolid in 2016. After that, in 2017, she studied the Master's degree in Synthetic and Industrial Chemistry organized by the University of Navarre, the University of Valladolid and the University of the Basque Country. Currently, she is finishing her PhD thesis in Physics at the Cellular Materials Laboratory (CellMat) of the University of Valladolid, under the supervision of Professors Miguel Ángel Rodríguez-Pérez and Fernando Villafañe González. This thesis is focused on the study of polyurethane-based systems and the understanding of the of the relationship between composition, process, structure and properties thereof. One of the main targets of her research is the development of superinsulating polyurethane aerogels which also have interesting optical properties. The final objective is to improve their insulating performance by reducing their thermal conductivity through the employment of different strategies.