The thermal conductivity and density of aerogel are both lower than those of insulation foam, which means it has more advantages in terms of heat insulation and lightweight. 
(2) Its heat resistance temperature is higher than that of high-temperature cotton, enabling it to adapt to more demanding high-temperature environments. 
(3) The mechanical properties of aerogels are superior. They are less likely to fall off during use and have greater stability. 
Therefore, aerogels are more suitable for scenarios that have strict requirements for insulation efficiency, lightweight, and temperature in space, such as in aerospace, high-end manufacturing, and new energy fields. However, aerogels also have issues such as higher costs; while traditional insulation cotton, due to its lower cost, is still widely used in ordinary building insulation and low-end industrial insulation in "cost-sensitive" scenarios. 
The conventional method for preparing aerogels 
The conventional preparation method of aerogels is a combination of the "sol-gel method" and the "drying method", which is almost the same as the freeze-drying process we often encounter when consuming strawberries. Specifically, it can be observed from the two key steps of "constructing the framework" and "drying and maintaining shape": 
During the "sol-gel" stage of aerogel formation, the core process involves the construction of a "nanomaterial framework filled with liquid". 
The pre-treatment for freeze-dried fruits is similar - first, the fresh fruits (which are already a "soft structure" containing a lot of water) are rapidly frozen, causing the water in the fruit flesh to freeze into ice crystals. At this point, these ice crystals act like "supports" to hold up the fibrous structure of the fruit flesh, preventing it from collapsing during subsequent drying. This is similar to the principle of how liquid supports the nano-framework in gels. 
(2) When using "freeze-drying" for the aerogel, the ice crystals within the gel will directly sublime from a solid state to a gaseous state in a vacuum environment. This prevents the liquid flow from damaging the fragile nano-structure. 
The drying process of freeze-dried fruits is exactly the same - under vacuum conditions, the ice crystals in the fruit flesh directly sublime, and after the moisture is removed, the original fiber structure of the fruit flesh (such as the flesh texture of strawberries and the fiber structure of mangoes) can be completely retained. Eventually, a loose, porous, and rehydratable frozen-dried form is formed. 
The only difference between the two is that the framework of the aerogel is at the nanometer scale, and the internal pores are invisible to the naked eye; while the framework of the freeze-dried fruits is at the micrometer or millimeter scale, and we can clearly see the loose pores inside it with our naked eyes.