Advanced ceramic sponge materials with temperature-invariant high compressibility are urgently needed as thermal insulators, energy absorbers, catalyst carriers, and high temperature air filters. However, the application of ceramic sponge materials is severely limited due to their complex preparation process. Here, we present a facile method for large-scale fabrication of highly compressible, temperature resistant SiO 2-Al 2 O 3 composite ceramic sponges by blow spinning and subsequent calcination. We successfully produce anisotropic lamellar ceramic sponges with numerous stacked microfiber layers and density as low as 10 mg cm −3. The anisotropic lamellar ceramic sponges exhibit high compression fatigue resistance, strain-independent zero Poisson's ratio, robust fire resistance, temperatureinvariant compression resilience from −196 to 1000°C, and excellent thermal insulation with a thermal conductivity as low as 0.034 W m −1 K −1. In addition, the lamellar structure also endows the ceramic sponges with excellent sound absorption properties, representing a promising alternative to existing thermal insulation and acoustic absorption materials.
Crystalline-amorphous composite have the potential to achieve high strength and high ductility through manipulation of their microstructures. Here, we fabricate a TiZr-based alloy with micrometer-size equiaxed grains that are made up of three-dimensional bicontinuous crystalline-amorphous nanoarchitectures (3D-BCANs). In situ tension and compression tests reveal that the BCANs exhibit enhanced ductility and strain hardening capability compared to both amorphous and crystalline phases, which impart ultra-high yield strength (~1.80 GPa), ultimate tensile strength (~2.3 GPa), and large uniform ductility (~7.0%) into the TiZr-based alloy. Experiments combined with finite element simulations reveal the synergetic deformation mechanisms; i.e., the amorphous phase imposes extra strain hardening to crystalline domains while crystalline domains prevent the premature shear localization in the amorphous phases. These mechanisms endow our material with an effective strength–ductility–strain hardening combination.
Thermal
runaway (TR) failures of large-format lithium-ion battery
systems related to fires and explosions have become a growing concern.
Here, we design a smart ceramic–hydrogel nanocomposite that
provides integrated thermal management, cooling, and fire insulation
functionalities and enables full-lifecycle security. The glass–ceramic
nanobelt sponges exhibit high mechanical flexibility with 80% reversible
compressibility and high fatigue resistance, which can firmly couple
with the polymer–nanoparticle hydrogels and form thermal-switchable
nanocomposites. In the operating mode, the high enthalpy of the nanocomposites
enables efficient thermal management, thereby preventing local temperature
spikes and overheating under extremely fast charging conditions. In
the case of mechanical or thermal abuse, the stored water can be immediately
released, leaving behind a highly flexible ceramic matrix with low
thermal conductivity (42 mW m–1 K–1 at 200 °C) and high-temperature resistance (up to 1300 °C),
thus effectively cooling the TR battery and alleviating the devastating
TR propagation. The versatility, self-adaptivity, environmental friendliness,
and manufacturing scalability make this material highly attractive
for practical safety assurance applications.
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