Thermal
insulation of solid materials originates from the nanoscale
porous architectures to regulate thermal management in energy-critical
applications from energy-efficient buildings to heat-sensitive energy
devices. Here, we show nanoengineering of porous silica materials
to control the architecture transition from mesoporous to nanocage
networks. A low thermal conductivity of such a porous silica network
is achieved at 0.018 W/(m K) while exhibiting a porosity of 92.05%,
specific surface area of 504 m2/g, and pore volume of 2.37
cm3/g after ambient pressure drying. Meanwhile, the crosslinking
of the porous silica and ceramic fiber frameworks show a tensile Young’s
modulus of 2.8 MPa while maintaining high thermal insulation, which
provides an effective thermal runway mitigation strategy for rechargeable
lithium-ion batteries. The nanoengineering strategy reported here
would shed light on achieving superthermal insulation of nanostructures
for energy-critical applications.
Thermal insulation paint material
is an energy-critical coating
component for thermal management in energy-efficient buildings, vehicles,
electronics, and data centers. Long-standing pursuits for the paint
coating materials are high thermal insulation and light reflectance,
mechanical durability, and wear resistance. Here we describe an aqueous-based
hierarchical coating nanocomposite composed of mesoporous silica aerogel
and titania nanoparticle pigment paint which exhibits a low thermal
conductivity of 0.029 W/m K, a high visible reflectance of 90%, and
a mechanical Young’s modulus of ∼4.86 MPa with a high
abrasion resistance. The hierarchical and hydrophobic nanocomposite
coatings show robust thermal cycling and thermal resistance, resulting
in an equivalent cooling power of 928 W/m2. The design
and manufacturing principle reported here could extend to a variety
of insulation coating materials to achieve energy efficiency and sustainability.
Aerogels constitute one of the most effective superinsulation materials, typically featuring remarkably low values of thermal conductivity due to their extremely high porosity comprised mostly of mesopores with an average...
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