Fabrication of Lightweight Polyimide Aerogels With Excellent Mechanical and Thermal Properties by Changing the Dianhydride Structures
Lu Shen
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Methodology (lead), Validation (lead), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorBinbin Sun
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Methodology (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorLong Ni
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Investigation (equal), Methodology (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorXiaoting Liao
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Formal analysis (lead), Methodology (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorYinfu Luo
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Investigation (equal), Methodology (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Shengtai Zhou
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Correspondence:
Shengtai Zhou ([email protected])
Huawei Zou ([email protected])
Contribution: Formal analysis (lead), Investigation (equal), Writing - review & editing (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Huawei Zou
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Correspondence:
Shengtai Zhou ([email protected])
Huawei Zou ([email protected])
Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Formal analysis (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorLu Shen
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Methodology (lead), Validation (lead), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorBinbin Sun
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Methodology (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorLong Ni
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Investigation (equal), Methodology (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorXiaoting Liao
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Formal analysis (lead), Methodology (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorYinfu Luo
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Contribution: Investigation (equal), Methodology (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Shengtai Zhou
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Correspondence:
Shengtai Zhou ([email protected])
Huawei Zou ([email protected])
Contribution: Formal analysis (lead), Investigation (equal), Writing - review & editing (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Huawei Zou
The State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Correspondence:
Shengtai Zhou ([email protected])
Huawei Zou ([email protected])
Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Formal analysis (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorFunding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, it becomes imperative to develop polyimide (PI) aerogels with excellent thermal insulation and mechanical performance to suit the demanding needs in high-tech sectors such as aerospace, electronics and fire protection among others. Herein, a series of PI aerogels with different dianhydride structures were prepared by sol–gel method, with 2,2′-dimethylbenzidine (DMBZ) being used as the diamine. The microstructure, mechanical properties, thermal stability, and thermal insulation properties of PI aerogels were regulated by changing the dianhydride structure. The compressive strength of PI aerogels at 10% strain was in the range of 0.04–1.60 MPa, and PIPMDA-DMBZ aerogel exhibited the best compressive strength among the studied systems. In addition, PIBPDA-DMBZ aerogel had an initial degradation temperature up to 510°C and thermal conductivity as low as 0.032 W/(m⋅K), demonstrating excellent thermal stability and insulation properties that can withstand harsh conditions.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| app56823-sup-0001-Supinfo.docxWord 2007 document , 2.8 MB |
Figure S1. The optimized DFT structure of different dianhydrides. Figure S2. Calculated angles of repeating units in PI aerogels with different dianhydride structures. Figure S3. MPP and SDP values of different dianhydrides (atoms were colored according to the distance value). Figure S4. A comparison of (a) mechanical properties and (b) thermal properties with the other aerogels [1-7]. Figure S5. Optical images of PI aerogels with a thickness of 2 mm. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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