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Ultralight and compressive SiC nanowires aerogel for high-temperature thermal insulation

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Abstract

Aerogels with excellent properties combination of ultralow density and great thermal insulation are drawing attention to applications in harsh conditions. Common aerogels, however, are usually constructed with nanoparticles with a weakness in physical combination. The silicon carbide nanowire (SiCNW) is a kind of one-dimensional (1D) nanowire possessing the promising properties of flexibility, great thermal insulation, and stability at high temperatures. An aerogel constructed by the SiCNW will produce a great material with a promising material, the amazing SiCNW aerogel. Here, a novel SiCNW aerogel was fabricated consisting of quantities of β-SiCNW of 15–40 nm in diameter and tens to hundreds of micrometers in length. This SiCNW aerogel possessed an ultralow density of 5.82 mg·cm–3, high-temperature resistance, and great thermal insulation with its thermal conductivities of 0.063 W·m–1·K–1 at 100 °C and 0.243 W·m–1·K–1 at 900 °C in He. Furthermore, the thermal insulation applicability of this aerogel was simulated. This study provides a promising way for designing and fabricating other multifunctional nanowire aerogels for high-temperature thermal insulation.

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摘要

由于具备超低密度和优异的隔热性能，气凝胶有望应用于极端条件，因而受到了广泛的关注。常规气凝胶通常由纳米颗粒物理结合而成，强度较低。碳化硅纳米线 (SiCNW) 是一种一维纳米线，具有柔韧性、隔热性优良和高温稳定性好等特点。因此，采用SiCNW构筑的气凝胶将是一种惊人且理想SiCNW气凝胶材料。本文中制备了一种新型SiCNW气凝胶，该气凝胶由大量直径15‒40 nm、长度在数十至数百微米的β-SiCNW构筑而成。该SiCNW气凝胶具有5.82 mg·cm‒3的超低密度、耐高温且隔热性能优良等特点，其在氦气气氛下100和900 ℃测得的导热系数分别为0.063和0.243 W·m‒1·K‒1。此外，本文还模拟了该气凝胶的隔热性能适用性，为其他应用于高温隔热的多功能纳米线气凝胶的设计和制造提供了一种潜在的探索思路。

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Talent Introduction Project Foundation of Nantong University (No. 135421615077), the Large Instruments Open Foundation of Nantong University (No. KFJN2237), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. D5000210522), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2021M702665), the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (No. 2022JQ-482), Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Fund, Basic Research Programs of Taicang (No. TC2021JC01), and 2022 Suzhou Association for Science and Technology Youth Science and Technology Talent Support Project Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Textile and Clothing, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China

    Jun-Xiong Zhang, Jing Zhang, Rong Liu & Qi-Long Sun

  2. School of Civil Aviation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, China

    Xin-Li Ye

  3. National Equipment New Materials & Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd, Suzhou, 215101, China

    Xiao-Ming Ma

  4. Hangzhou Institute of Technology, Xidian University, Hangzhou, 311231, China

    Yun-Lei Zhou

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  1. Jun-Xiong Zhang
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Zhang, JX., Zhang, J., Ye, XL. et al. Ultralight and compressive SiC nanowires aerogel for high-temperature thermal insulation. Rare Met. 42, 3354–3363 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-023-02370-5

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