Advantages and Disadvantages of Aerogel Coatings 
Aerogel is a solid with a nano-porous structure, featuring an extremely high porosity and the lowest density. It is a new generation of highly efficient and energy-saving insulation material. The aerogel coating made from aerogel powder, which is the main functional material, also possesses many unique properties. 
1) Unique heat insulation effect 
The heat insulation principle of aerogel is due to its unique structure, which brings about the non-convection effect, infinite number of shielding plate effect and infinite path effect. These can effectively prevent air convection and reduce heat radiation and heat conduction. For example, the thermal conductivity of silica aerogel at room temperature can reach 0.018 W/m·K, which is much lower than that of traditional heat insulation and thermal insulation materials. The aerogel coating with aerogel powder added has a thermal conductivity as low as 0.04 W/(m·K). 
Compared with traditional insulation and heat preservation materials, the actual insulation and heat preservation effect is much better. Basically, an aerogel coating with a thickness of several millimeters can achieve the insulation effect of traditional insulation materials with a thickness of several centimeters. 
2) Exceptional scalability 
An advanced and excellent material, whether it can be widely applied, merely having good performance is not enough. The most crucial factor is how easy it is to use, that is, its expandability and adaptability. As a base material, aerogel powder can be compounded in various ways to produce all kinds of heat insulation and thermal preservation materials, greatly expanding the application scope. 
In the broad sense of the coatings industry, there are numerous types of film-forming materials, including solvent-based, water-based and inorganic ones. The water-based ones include emulsion and water dispersion types. The film-forming materials can be single-component, dual-component, self-drying at room temperature, or dried at high temperature. By selecting different film-forming materials, the aerogel coatings can be endowed with various unique properties, thus enabling the realization of aerogel insulation and heat preservation coatings with different functional characteristics. 
The temperature limit of silica aerogel powder is 650℃. By choosing different film-forming materials, it is possible to achieve a wide temperature range of thermal insulation coatings. 
If a low-temperature elastic emulsion is chosen and combined with aerogel powder, a low-temperature heat insulation and cold preservation coating that does not crack at low temperatures (-60℃) can be produced. This coating can be used in cold storage facilities, refrigerated vehicles, etc. 
If a heat-resistant emulsion is selected and combined with aerogel powder, a heat-resistant and insulation coating with a temperature resistance of up to 200℃ can be produced. This coating can be used for insulation and heat preservation of industrial pipelines and boilers. 
If inorganic resins are selected and combined with aerogel powder, an inorganic heat insulation and thermal insulation coating that is both resistant to high temperatures (300-600℃) and flame retardant can be produced. This coating can be used for industrial heat insulation and thermal insulation at higher temperatures. 
If a more heat-resistant type of aluminium oxide or other types of aerogel powder are selected, combined with inorganic resins, a thermal insulation coating with a temperature resistance exceeding 1000℃ can be prepared. 
3) Construction convenience and wide adaptability 
The aerogel coating can be directly sprayed or scraped onto the surface of objects. It can also perfectly cover complex-shaped special parts such as pipes and valves, solving the construction problems of traditional insulation materials. 
Even the aerogel felt has a thickness of only millimeters. It has excellent flexibility. Its wrapping property and construction convenience are far superior to traditional thick-layer insulation sheets. 
4) Extremely long service life 
The aerogel powder itself is a stable and inert inorganic substance. The lifespan of the aerogel insulation coating mainly depends on the properties of the film-forming material. In the field of coatings, the minimum lifespan of various film-forming materials is 3 years, while the lifespan of commonly used film-forming materials is 10 to 30 years. The lifespan of inorganic resin types can even reach 100 years. 
Therefore, by using aerogel powder as the main insulation material and combining it with various different coating materials, a variety of aerogel insulation and heat preservation coatings with different service lifetimes can be achieved. 
Especially for the currently mainstream silica aerogel powder, it inherently possesses extremely strong hydrophobic properties. The aerogel insulation and heat preservation coating prepared from it naturally has a hydrophobic effect, and can further enhance the service life of the coating. 
This, for traditional insulation and heat preservation materials, is simply a straightforward and effective attack that reduces the complexity. 
For example, the exterior wall insulation and decoration integrated panel claims to have a 50-year lifespan. However, after installation, moisture will eventually seep into the joint gaps and the bonding layer. Over time, not only will the insulation effect significantly deteriorate, but the insulation panel also has the risk of cracking and falling off. Moreover, it is difficult to repair. 
The aerogel insulation and heat preservation coating is a thin type of coating. It forms an overall insulation layer through scraping or spraying, without any joint issues or adhesion problems. Even if there are local peeling or cracking problems in the later stage, there will be no large-scale water penetration between the coating and the substrate. Only by repairing the damaged parts and reapplying the aerogel coating can a complete insulation and heat preservation layer be formed again. 

The sole drawback of aerogel coatings 
Although aerogel coatings have many advantages, they also have a very obvious drawback. 
That is: The cost is high. 
Among the components of the aerogel coating, the most expensive one is the aerogel powder. Currently, the production cost of the aerogel powder is extremely high, which results in the relatively high cost of the aerogel coating as well. 
At the market price of 40 yuan per kilogram, if the coating thickness is 3mm and the estimated usage of the aerogel coating is 2.0 kilograms per square meter, the material cost of the 3mm thick aerogel coating would be as high as 80 yuan per square meter. If the thickness of the aerogel coating reaches 9mm, the usage of the aerogel coating would increase to 6.0 kilograms per square meter, and the raw material cost would be as high as 240 yuan per square meter. 
To achieve the best insulation and heat preservation effect, the coating thickness cannot be too thin. Therefore, the initial investment for using aerogel paint will inevitably be relatively high. 

What is the future outlook of aerogel coatings? 
The answer is unique: The prospects are extremely promising. The reasons are as follows：
1) The cost will gradually decrease. 
In recent years, many domestic enterprises have been vigorously building production lines for aerogel. The production capacity has been increasing, and as enterprises invest more, the production cost of aerogel powder has been decreasing. The price of aerogel coatings is bound to become lower and lower. This specific point will not be elaborated further. You can find a lot of information about enterprises providing aerogel raw materials on the internet. 
As the cost of aerogel coatings gradually decreases, their prices are getting lower and lower. Moreover, aerogel coatings have a very long service life, so their overall cost-effectiveness will keep improving and they will inevitably gradually seize the market share of existing insulation materials. 
2) Potentially huge demand 
This is something that everyone is aware of. The domestic construction market itself is of a huge scale, with a huge market for insulation of interior and exterior walls as well as basements. The insulation and heat preservation of industrial plants, as well as the insulation and heat preservation of industrial pipelines and boilers, are also not small in scale. Electric vehicles, as well as various battery-powered equipment, currently also require a large amount of insulation, fireproofing, and flame-retardant materials. Energy conservation and reduction of consumption are always in demand, whether at the national policy level or in the actual market demand. This is beyond doubt. 
As the cost-effectiveness of aerogel coatings keeps improving, the future of aerogel coatings is bound to be even better!