Ultralight Ceramic Fiber Aerogel for High-Temperature Thermal Superinsulation

Abstract

Emerging fiber aerogels with excellent mechanical properties are considered as promising thermal insulation materials. However, their applications in extreme environments are hindered by unsatisfactory high-temperature thermal insulation properties resulting from severely increased radiative heat transfer. Here, numerical simulations are innovatively employed for structural design of fiber aerogels, demonstrating that adding SiC opacifiers to directionally arranged ZrO2 fiber aerogels (SZFAs) can substantially reduce high-temperature thermal conductivity. As expected, SZFAs obtained by directional freeze-drying technique demonstrate far superior high-temperature thermal insulation performance over existing ZrO2-based fiber aerogels, with a thermal conductivity of only 0.0663 W·m−1·K−1 at 1000 °C. Furthermore, SZFAs also exhibit excellent comprehensive properties, including ultralow density (6.24–37.25 mg·cm−3), superior elasticity (500 compression cycles at 60% strain) and outstanding heat resistance (up to 1200 °C). The birth of SZFAs provides theoretical guidance and simple construction methods for the fabrication of fiber aerogels with excellent high-temperature thermal insulation properties used for extreme conditions.