Facile synthesis of super-thermal insulating polyimide aerogel-like films

Jing Ma; Yonghui Lü; Hua Wen; Yupei Zhang; Wei Wei; Guotong Qin; Yong Zhao; Lei Jiang; Lihong Liu; Shaomin Liu

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105641

Facile synthesis of super-thermal insulating polyimide aerogel-like films

iScience. 2022 Nov 21;25(12):105641. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105641. eCollection 2022 Dec 22.

Authors

Jing Ma¹, Yonghui Lü¹, Hua Wen¹, Yupei Zhang¹, Wei Wei², Guotong Qin¹, Yong Zhao³, Lei Jiang³, Lihong Liu⁴, Shaomin Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Space and Environment, Beihang University, Shahe Campus, Beijing 102206, China.
² College of Biochemical Engineering, Beijing Union University, Beijing 100023, China.
³ School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
⁴ WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.

Abstract

Thermal superinsulation materials play a key role in reducing energy consumption. In this article, flexible polyimide aerogel-like films are developed by a facile non-solvent-induced phase separation combined with ambient drying method. The pore structure and insulation properties are well controlled by changing the compositions of the coagulation bath. Polyimide films with macro-nano hierarchical pore structure and uniform nanopores are prepared by adjusting the content of water and alcohol as the non-solvent. The relationship between the insulation performance and textured structure of polyimide was studied. After optimization, the produced film achieved a low thermal conductivity of 0.019 W⋅m^-1·K^-1 but good tensile strength of 89.6 MPa, compared favorably with literature results. Hence, this article demonstrates that application of the facile phase inversion method to prepare porous polymers can be expanded from desalination or gas separation fields to insulation for energy-saving purposes.

Keywords: Polymer chemistry; Thermal engineering; Thermal property.