Advanced ceramic sponge materials with temperature-invariant high compressibility are urgently needed as thermal insulators, energy absorbers, catalyst carriers, and high temperature air filters. However, the application of ceramic sponge materials is severely limited due to their complex preparation process. Here, we present a facile method for large-scale fabrication of highly compressible, temperature resistant SiO 2-Al 2 O 3 composite ceramic sponges by blow spinning and subsequent calcination. We successfully produce anisotropic lamellar ceramic sponges with numerous stacked microfiber layers and density as low as 10 mg cm −3. The anisotropic lamellar ceramic sponges exhibit high compression fatigue resistance, strain-independent zero Poisson's ratio, robust fire resistance, temperatureinvariant compression resilience from −196 to 1000°C, and excellent thermal insulation with a thermal conductivity as low as 0.034 W m −1 K −1. In addition, the lamellar structure also endows the ceramic sponges with excellent sound absorption properties, representing a promising alternative to existing thermal insulation and acoustic absorption materials.

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Two-dimensional (2D) nanoscale oxides have attracted research interest owing to their electronic, magnetic optical and catalytic properties. If they could be manufactured on a large scale, 2D oxides would be attractive for applications ranging from electronics to energy conversion and storage. Herein, we report facile fabrication of oxide nanosheets by rapid thermal annealing of corresponding hydrous-chloride compounds. By heating CrCl3·6H2O, ZrOCl2·8H2O, AlCl3·6H2O and YCl3·6H2O crystals as precursors, we immediately collect large quantities of ultrathin Cr2O3, ZrO2, Al2O3 and Y2O3 nanosheets, respectively. The formation of layered nanosheets relies on exfoliation driven by rapid evaporation of water and/or other gas molecules generated under annealing. Our route allows simple, efficient and inexpensive production of 2D oxides. As a demonstration, we evaluate Cr2O3 nanosheets prepared by our method as anodes in lithium-ion batteries and find superior performance in comparison with their microcrystalline counterparts.

A general and convenient strategy for manufacturing freestanding metal nanolayers is developed on large scale. By the simple process of repeatedly folding and calendering stacked metal sheets followed by chemical etching, free-standing 2D metal (e.g., Ag, Au, Fe, Cu, and Ni) nanosheets are obtained with thicknesses as small as 1 nm and with sizes of the order of several micrometers.

Direct coagulation casting is a novel near-net-shape method for forming ceramic green bodies from homogenous highsolids-loaded particle suspensions. It is based on the principle of the in situ coagulation of a powder suspension via a reaction-rate-controlled internal-enzyme(urease)-catalyzed reaction after casting. Low-viscosity (<3 Pa⅐s) suspensions with a high solids loading (>62 vol%) of SiC, boron, and carbon powder mixtures with a high surface area (>7-10 m 2 /g) have been prepared at pH = 10. Salt ions (up to 1-2 mol/L) are created by the urease-catalyzed decomposition of urea, to destabilize the suspensions. The coagulation kinetics and the strength of the wet green bodies have been investigated. The reaction rate is strongly dependent on the temperature (in the range of 5°-30°C) and the enzyme concentration (for the range of 4-16 units/g SiC) and is independent of the substrate (urea) concentration for urea concentrations of <2 wt%, based on the powder content. The resulting green bodies show no shrinkage during coagulation and 1%-2% linear shrinkage during drying. The compressive strengths of the wet green bodies are as high as 60 kPa and increase as the coagulation time increases. The wet green strength of the coagulated suspensions scales with the solids content, according to a power law with an exponent of 11, in the range of 56-61 vol% solids content. The possibilities of fabricating high-solids-containing complex SiC green and sintered components with homogenous microstructures and high sintered densities are demonstrated.