1. An Efficient Strategy for Reinforcing Flexible Ceramic Membranes
- Author
-
Qing Zhang, Hai-Hong Li, Yue-Xia Wu, Kun Zhang, Yao-Yu Wang, Jia Liu, Xue Mao, Jie Hong, and Li Zhao
- Subjects
Superinsulation ,Materials science ,Fabrication ,Mechanical Engineering ,Bioengineering ,General Chemistry ,Condensed Matter Physics ,Electrospinning ,law.invention ,Membrane ,law ,visual_art ,Nanofiber ,Ultimate tensile strength ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,General Materials Science ,Calcination ,Ceramic ,Composite material - Abstract
Herein, we present a facile reinforcement method for the large-scale fabrication of highly flexible, mechanically stable, temperature-resistant ceramic lightweight membranes based on the cross-linked assembly of zirconia-silica (ZrO2-SiO2) nanofibrous and montmorillonite (MMT) nanosheets through electrospinning and a subsequent calcination process. The resulting MMT@ZrO2-SiO2 membranes exhibit high flexibility with a bending rigidity of 0.2 cN mm-1, robust mechanical performance with a tensile strength of up to 1.83 MPa, robust fire resistance, and temperature-invariant mechanical stability from -196 to 1000 °C. The thermal superinsulation with a thermal conductivity as low as 0.026 W m-1 K-1 and the improved mechanical strength can be attributed to the cross-linked interfacial interaction between the ZrO2-SiO2 nanofibers and the MMT nanosheets. Additionally, a firefighter uniform with MMT@ZrO2-SiO2 membranes inside features a superior thermal protective property up to the A2 level (combined flame and radiant exposure) and an excellent fire resistance of up to 1000 °C, which is ideal for next-generation firefighter uniform manufacturing.
- Published
- 2021