João Vareda

Dr. João Vareda

Chemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

11Years (2016-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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7 February 2023 in Journal of Molecular Liquids
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
JVJoão Vareda
João Vareda

1 March 2018 in Microporous and Mesoporous Materials
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
JVJoão Vareda
João Vareda
ALAlyne Lamy-Mendes
Alyne Lamy-Mendes
Luísa DurãesLuísa Durães
Luísa Durães


1 November 2016 in Advances in Colloid and Interface Science
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
JVJoão Vareda
João Vareda
Artur ValenteArtur Valente
Artur Valente
Luísa DurãesLuísa Durães
Luísa Durães

1 February 2018 in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
JVJoão Vareda
João Vareda
PMPedro Maximiano
Pedro Maximiano
LCLuís P. Cunha
Luís P. Cunha
AFAndré F. Ferreira
André F. Ferreira
PSPedro Nuno NL Simões
Pedro Nuno NL Simões
Luísa DurãesLuísa Durães
Luísa Durães

23 June 2022 in Polymers
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Beatriz MerillasBeatriz Merillas
Beatriz Merillas
JVJoão Vareda
João Vareda
JLJudith Martín-De León
Judith Martín-De León
Miguel Angel Rodríguez-PérezMiguel Angel Rodríguez-Pérez
Miguel Angel Rodríguez-Pérez
Luísa DurãesLuísa Durães
Luísa Durães
Nowadays, our society is facing problems related to energy availability. Owing to the energy savings that insulators provide, the search for effective insulating materials is a focus of interest. Since the current insulators do not meet the increasingly strict requirements, developing materials with a greater insulating capacity is needed. Until now, several nanoporous materials have been considered as superinsulators achieving thermal conductivities below that of the air 26 mW/(m K), like nanocellular PMMA/TPU, silica aerogels, and polyurethane aerogels reaching 24.8, 10, and 12 mW/(m K), respectively. In the search for the minimum thermal conductivity, still undiscovered, the first step is understanding heat transfer in nanoporous materials. The main features leading to superinsulation are low density, nanopores, and solid interruptions hindering the phonon transfer. The second crucial condition is obtaining reliable thermal conductivity measurement techniques. This review summarizes these techniques, and data in the literature regarding the structure and thermal conductivity of two nanoporous materials, nanocellular polymers and aerogels. The key conclusion of this analysis specifies that only steady-state methods provide a reliable value for thermal conductivity of superinsulators. Finally, a theoretical discussion is performed providing a detailed background to further explore the lower limit of superinsulation to develop more efficient materials.