Synthesis and analysis of new humidity-controlling composite materials

Gypsum is a traditional building material. To improve the humidity-controlling properties of gypsum, we prepared a new type of humidity-controlling composite using the sol–gel method. Methods to determine the maximum equilibrium moisture content and speed of adsorption/desorption were subsequently applied to analyze the performance of the samples. The appearance and structural properties of the samples were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The experimental results show that the humidity-controlling gel with added LiCl exhibits high moisture storage and that the equilibrium maximum moisture content is 5.652 g/g at a 75.29% relative humidity (RH). A mass ratio of LiCl/sol = 0.15 is demonstrated to be appropriate for the preparation of the new humidity-controlling composites. A coarse network with tiny pores is observed on the surface of the new humidity-controlling composites, and this pore network provides sufficient space for moisture adsorption.