Journal Home > Volume 11 , Issue 8

Multifunctionalization is the development direction of personal thermal energy regulation equipment in the future. However, it is still a huge challenge to effectively integrate multiple functionalities into one material. In this study, a simple thermochemical process was used to prepare a multifunctional SiC nanofiber aerogel spring (SiC NFAS), which exhibited ultralow density (9 mg/cm3), ultralow thermal conductivity (0.029 W/(m·K) at 20 ℃), excellent ablation and oxidation resistance, and a stable three-dimensional (3D) structure that composed of a large number of interlacing 3C-SiC nanofibers with diameters of 300-500 nm and lengths in tens to hundreds of microns. Furthermore, the as-prepared SiC NFAS displayed excellent mechanical properties, with a permanent deformation of only 1.3% at 20 ℃ after 1000 cycles. Remarkably, the SiC NFAS exhibited robust hyperelasticity and cyclic fatigue resistance at both low (~ -196 ℃) and high (~700 ℃) temperatures. Due to its exceptional thermal insulation performance, the SiC NFAS can be used for personal thermal energy regulation. The results of the study conclusively show that the SiC NFAS is a multifunctional material and has potential insulation applications in both low- and high-temperature environments.


menu
Abstract
Full text
Outline
Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Ultralight and hyperelastic SiC nanofiber aerogel spring for personal thermal energy regulation

Show Author's information Limeng SONGaBingbing FANa( )Yongqiang CHENa,dQiancheng GAOcZhe LIcHailong WANGaXinyue ZHANGa,cLi GUANcHongxia LId( )Rui ZHANGa,b( )
School of Material Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Zhengzhou 450015, China
Sinosteel Luoyang Institute of Refractories Research Co., Ltd., Luoyang 471039, China

Abstract

Multifunctionalization is the development direction of personal thermal energy regulation equipment in the future. However, it is still a huge challenge to effectively integrate multiple functionalities into one material. In this study, a simple thermochemical process was used to prepare a multifunctional SiC nanofiber aerogel spring (SiC NFAS), which exhibited ultralow density (9 mg/cm3), ultralow thermal conductivity (0.029 W/(m·K) at 20 ℃), excellent ablation and oxidation resistance, and a stable three-dimensional (3D) structure that composed of a large number of interlacing 3C-SiC nanofibers with diameters of 300-500 nm and lengths in tens to hundreds of microns. Furthermore, the as-prepared SiC NFAS displayed excellent mechanical properties, with a permanent deformation of only 1.3% at 20 ℃ after 1000 cycles. Remarkably, the SiC NFAS exhibited robust hyperelasticity and cyclic fatigue resistance at both low (~ -196 ℃) and high (~700 ℃) temperatures. Due to its exceptional thermal insulation performance, the SiC NFAS can be used for personal thermal energy regulation. The results of the study conclusively show that the SiC NFAS is a multifunctional material and has potential insulation applications in both low- and high-temperature environments.

Keywords: mechanical property, thermal insulation, SiC nanofiber aerogel spring (SiC NFAS), personal thermal energy regulation

References(63)

[1]
Zhao DL, Lu X, Fan TZ, et al. Personal thermal management using portable thermoelectrics for potential building energy saving. Appl Energ 2018, 218: 282-291.
[2]
Veselý M, Zeiler W. Personalized conditioning and its impact on thermal comfort and energy performance—A review. Renew Sust Energ Rev 2014, 34: 401-408.
[3]
Luo MH, Cao B, Ji WJ, et al. The underlying linkage between personal control and thermal comfort: Psychological or physical effects? Energ Buildings 2016, 111: 56-63.
[4]
Axelrod YK, Diringer MN. Temperature management in acute neurologic disorders. Neurol Clin 2008, 26: 585-603.
[5]
Brown DJA, Brugger H, Boyd J, et al. Accidental hypothermia. N Engl J Med 2012, 367: 1930-1938.
[6]
Chan APC, Yi W. Heat stress and its impacts on occupational health and performance. Indoor Built Environ 2016, 25: 3-5.
[7]
Peng YC, Cui Y. Advanced textiles for personal thermal management and energy. Joule 2020, 4: 724-742.
[8]
Hsu PC, Liu XG, Liu C, et al. Personal thermal management by metallic nanowire-coated textile. Nano Lett 2015, 15: 365-371.
[9]
Xie Z, Jin XJ, Chen G, et al. Integrated smart electrochromic windows for energy saving and storage applications. Chem Commun 2014, 50: 608-610.
[10]
Tong JK, Huang XP, Boriskina SV, et al. Infrared- transparent visible-opaque fabrics for wearable personal thermal management. ACS Photonics 2015, 2: 769-778.
[11]
Guo YB, Li KR, Hou CY, et al. Fluoroalkylsilane-modified textile-based personal energy management device for multifunctional wearable applications. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2016, 8: 4676-4683.
[12]
Yang L, Yan HY, Lam JC. Thermal comfort and building energy consumption implications—A review. Appl Energ 2014, 115: 164-173.
[13]
Kou JL, Jurado Z, Chen Z, et al. Daytime radiative cooling using near-black infrared emitters. ACS Photonics 2017, 4: 626-630.
[14]
Zhang H, Arens E, Zhai YC. A review of the corrective power of personal comfort systems in non-neutral ambient environments. Build Environ 2015, 91: 15-41.
[15]
Zhai Y, Ma YG, David SN, et al. Scalable-manufactured randomized glass-polymer hybrid metamaterial for daytime radiative cooling. Science 2017, 355: 1062-1066.
[16]
De Korte EM, Spiekman M, Hoes-van Oeffelen L, et al. Personal environmental control: Effects of pre-set conditions for heating and lighting on personal settings, task performance and comfort experience. Build Environ 2015, 86: 166-176.
[17]
Hoyt T, Arens E, Zhang H. Extending air temperature setpoints: Simulated energy savings and design considerations for new and retrofit buildings. Build Environ 2015, 88: 89-96.
[18]
Freire RZ, Oliveira GHC, Mendes N. Predictive controllers for thermal comfort optimization and energy savings. Energ Buildings 2008, 40: 1353-1365.
[19]
Choi S, Park J, Hyun W, et al. Stretchable heater using ligand-exchanged silver nanowire nanocomposite for wearable articular thermotherapy. ACS Nano 2015, 9: 6626-6633.
[20]
Claramunt S, Monereo O, Boix M, et al. Flexible gas sensor array with an embedded heater based on metal decorated carbon nanofibres. Sens Actuat B Chem 2013, 187: 401-406.
[21]
Amjadi M, Kyung KU, Park I, et al. Stretchable, skin-mountable, and wearable strain sensors and their potential applications: A review. Adv Funct Mater 2016, 26: 1678-1698.
[22]
Hong S, Gu Y, Seo JK, et al. Wearable thermoelectrics for personalized thermoregulation. Sci Adv 2019, 5: eaaw0536.
[23]
Cai LL, Peng YC, Xu JW, et al. Temperature regulation in colored infrared-transparent polyethylene textiles. Joule 2019, 3: 1478-1486.
[24]
Tian RM, Liu YQ, Koumoto K, et al. Body heat powers future electronic skins. Joule 2019, 3: 1399-1403.
[25]
Roh JS, Chi YS, Kang TJ. Thermal insulation properties of multifunctional metal composite fabrics. Smart Mater Struct 2009, 18: 025018.
[26]
Yue XJ, Zhang T, Yang DY, et al. Ag nanoparticles coated cellulose membrane with high infrared reflection, breathability and antibacterial property for human thermal insulation. J Colloid Interface Sci 2019, 535: 363-370.
[27]
Hsu PC, Song AY, Catrysse PB, et al. Radiative human body cooling by nanoporous polyethylene textile. Science 2016, 353: 1019-1023.
[28]
Peng YC, Chen J, Song AY, et al. Nanoporous polyethylene microfibres for large-scale radiative cooling fabric. Nat Sustain 2018, 1: 105-112.
[29]
Cai LL, Song AY, Li W, et al. Spectrally selective nanocomposite textile for outdoor personal cooling. Adv Mater 2018, 30: 1802152.
[30]
Caps R, Arduini-Schuster MC, Ebert HP, et al. Improved thermal radiation extinction in metal coated polypropylen microfibers. Int J Heat Mass Transf 1993, 36: 2789-2794.
[31]
Dombrovsky LA. Infrared and microwave radiative properties of metal coated microfibres. Revue Générale de Thermique 1998, 37: 925-933.
[32]
Kleiman M, Gurwich I, Shiloah N. Enhanced extinction of electromagnetic radiation by metal-coated fibers. J Quant Spectrosc Radiat Transf 2007, 106: 184-191.
[33]
Zhao Y, Hao LL, Zhang XD, et al. A novel strategy in electromagnetic wave absorbing and shielding materials design: Multi-responsive field effect. Small Sci 2022, 2: 2100077.
[34]
Wang F, Gu WH, Chen JB, et al. The point defect and electronic structure of K doped LaCo0.9Fe0.1O3 perovskite with enhanced microwave absorbing ability. Nano Res 2022, 15: 3720-3728.
[35]
Wang GH, Zhao Y, Yang F, et al. Multifunctional integrated transparent film for efficient electromagnetic protection. Nano-Micro Lett 2022, 14: 65.
[36]
Peng Y, Guo ZN, Yang JJ, et al. Enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution over micro-SiC by coupling with CdS under visible light irradiation. J Mater Chem A 2014, 2: 6296-6300.
[37]
Lu D, Su L, Wang HJ, et al. Scalable fabrication of resilient SiC nanowires aerogels with exceptional high-temperature stability. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019, 11: 45338-45344.
[38]
Wu RB, Zhou K, Yang ZH, et al. Molten-salt-mediated synthesis of SiC nanowires for microwave absorption applications. CrystEngComm 2013, 15: 570-576.
[39]
Peng K, Zhou JX, Gao HF, et al. Emerging one-/two- dimensional heteronanostructure integrating SiC nanowires with MoS2 nanosheets for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020, 12: 19519-19529.
[40]
Dai W, Yu JH, Wang Y, et al. Enhanced thermal conductivity for polyimide composites with a three- dimensional silicon carbide nanowires@graphene sheets filler. J Mater Chem A 2015, 3: 4884-4891.
[41]
Lin LW. Synthesis and optical property of large-scale centimetres-long silicon carbide nanowires by catalyst-free CVD route under superatmospheric pressure conditions. Nanoscale 2011, 3: 1582-1591.
[42]
Du B, Zhang DY, Qian JJ, et al. Multifunctional carbon nanofiber-SiC nanowire aerogel films with superior microwave absorbing performance. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 2021, 4: 1281-1291.
[43]
Cheng YH, Hu P, Zhou SB, et al. Achieving tunability of effective electromagnetic wave absorption between the whole X-band and Ku-band via adjusting PPy loading in SiC nanowires/graphene hybrid foam. Carbon 2018, 132: 430-443.
[44]
Liang HW, Guan QF, Chen LF, et al. Macroscopic-scale template synthesis of robust carbonaceous nanofiber hydrogels and aerogels and their applications. Angew Chem Int Ed 2012, 51: 5101-5105.
[45]
Ye XL, Chen ZF, Zhang JX, et al. SiC network reinforced SiO2 aerogel with improved compressive strength and preeminent microwave absorption at elevated temperatures. Ceram Int 2021, 47: 31497-31505.
[46]
Su L, Wang HJ, Niu M, et al. Ultralight, recoverable, and high-temperature-resistant SiC nanowire aerogel. ACS Nano 2018, 12: 3103-3111.
[47]
Si Y, Yu JY, Tang XM, et al. Ultralight nanofibre- assembled cellular aerogels with superelasticity and multifunctionality. Nat Commun 2014, 5: 5802.
[48]
Su L, Wang HJ, Niu M, et al. Anisotropic and hierarchical SiC@SiO2 nanowire aerogel with exceptional stiffness and stability for thermal superinsulation. Sci Adv 2020, 6: eaay6689.
[49]
Cheng XD, Zhu SY, Pan YL, et al. Fire retardancy and thermal behaviors of cellulose nanofiber/zinc borate aerogel. Cellulose 2020, 27: 7463-7474.
[50]
Guerrero-Alburquerque N, Zhao SY, Adilien N, et al. Strong, machinable, and insulating chitosan-urea aerogels: Toward ambient pressure drying of biopolymer aerogel monoliths. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020, 12: 22037-22049.
[51]
Zhou T, Cheng XD, Pan YL, et al. Mechanical performance and thermal stability of polyvinyl alcohol-cellulose aerogels by freeze drying. Cellulose 2019, 26: 1747-1755.
[52]
Cheng YH, Zhou SB, Hu P, et al. Enhanced mechanical, thermal, and electric properties of graphene aerogels via supercritical ethanol drying and high-temperature thermal reduction. Sci Rep 2017, 7: 1439.
[53]
Guzel Kaya G, Yilmaz E, Deveci H. Synthesis of sustainable silica xerogels/aerogels using inexpensive steel slag and bean pod ash: A comparison study. Adv Powder Technol 2020, 31: 926-936.
[54]
Shi MK, Shen MM, Guo XY, et al. Ti3C2Tx MXene- decorated nanoporous polyethylene textile for passive and active personal precision heating. ACS Nano 2021, 15: 11396-11405.
[55]
Morkoç H, Strite S, Gao GB, et al. Large-band-gap SiC, III-V nitride, and II-VI ZnSe-based semiconductor device technologies. J Appl Phys 1994, 76: 1363-1398.
[56]
Wu Y, Zhou LP, Du XZ, et al. Optical and thermal radiative properties of plasmonic nanofluids containing core-shell composite nanoparticles for efficient photothermal conversion. Int J Heat Mass Transf 2015, 82: 545-554.
[57]
Hillenbrand R, Taubner T, Keilmann F. Phonon-enhanced light-matter interaction at the nanometre scale. Nature 2002, 418: 159-162.
[58]
Riedl C, Coletti C, Starke U. Structural and electronic properties of epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001): A review of growth, characterization, transfer doping and hydrogen intercalation. J Phys D Appl Phys 2010, 43: 374009.
[59]
Hardy JD, Dubois EF. Regulation of heat loss from the human body. PNAS 1937, 23: 624-631.
[60]
Winslow CEA, Gagge AP, Herrington LP. The influence of air movement upon heat losses from the clothed human body. Am J Physiol Leg Content 1939, 127: 505-518.
[61]
Hazarika A, Deka BK, Kim DY, et al. Woven kevlar fiber/polydimethylsiloxane/reduced graphene oxide composite- based personal thermal management with freestanding Cu-Ni core-shell nanowires. Nano Lett 2018, 18: 6731-6739.
[62]
Younes J, Harajli Z, Soueidan M, et al. Mid-IR photothermal beam deflection technique for fast measurement of thermal diffusivity and highly sensitive subsurface imaging. J Appl Phys 2020, 127: 173101.
[63]
Yan F, Devaty RP, Choyke WJ, et al. Anharmonic vibrations of the dicarbon antisite defect in 4H-SiC. Appl Phys Lett 2012, 100: 132107.
File
40145_0606_ESM.pdf (923.3 KB)
Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Rights and permissions

Publication history

Received: 25 February 2022
Revised: 18 April 2022
Accepted: 27 April 2022
Published: 18 July 2022
Issue date: August 2022

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2022.

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. U2004177 and U21A2064) and Outstanding Youth Fund of the National Science Fundation of Henan Province (No. 212300410081).

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Return