Hypocrystalline ceramic aerogels for thermal insulation at extreme conditions

Abstract Thermal insulation under extreme conditions requires materials that can withstand complex thermomechanical stress and retain excellent thermal insulation properties at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius 1–3 . Ceramic aerogels are attractive thermal insulating materials; however, at very high temperatures, they often show considerably increased thermal conductivity and limited thermomechanical stability that can lead to catastrophic failure 4–6 . Here we report a multiscale design of hypocrystalline zircon nanofibrous aerogels with a zig-zag architecture that leads to exceptional thermomechanical stability and ultralow thermal conductivity at high temperatures. The aerogels show a near-zero…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 51921006, 51878227