LAUSR

In this work, methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) derived silica aerogel with the low density of about 38 mg/cm3 was prepared via ethanol supercritical fluid drying. Nondestructive dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) was successfully used to characterize its mechanical behavior in the temperature range − 150–300 °C. The DMA results reveal that the storage modulus of low density aerogel is under 0.25 MPa and keep almost constant over a broad temperature range − 150–300 °C, while the storage modulus of high density aerogel (247 mg/cm3) is beyond 2.5 MPa and change noticeably in the same temperature range. The MTMS-derived low density silica aerogel have not only excellent stable mechanical property, but also low thermal conductivity (0.02591 W/mK) and super-hydrophobicity (contact angle 160°), which results in the potential application for the space exploration.