Additive Manufacturing of Resilient SiC Nanowire Aerogels

Abstract

Resilient ceramic aerogels are emerging as a fascinating material that features light weight, low thermal conductivity, and recoverable compressibility, promising widespread prospects in the fields of heat insulation, catalysis, filtration, and aerospace exploration. However, the construction of the resilient ceramic aerogels with rational designed multiscale architectures aiming for tunable physical and mechanical performances remains a major challenge. Here, 3D constructed resilient SiC nanowire aerogels possessing programmed geometries and engineered mechanical properties are created via additive manufacturing. The Young’s modulus of the fabricated SiC nanowire aerogel lattices are tuned systematically from 0.012 MPa to 5.800 MPa spanning over 2 orders of magnitude. More importantly, the customized lightweight and resilient SiC nanowire aerogels show a low thermal conductivity (0.046 W m–1 K–1). The present work provides another approach to the design and rapid fabrication of resilient ceramic aerogels toward flexible thermal management devices, lightweight engineered structures, and other potential applications.

Superelastic, Highly Conductive, Superhydrophobic, and Powerful Electromagnetic Shielding Hybrid Aerogels Built from Orthogonal Graphene and Boron Nitride Nanoribbons

“…The room temperature k and density of the OSG/BNNR hybrid aerogels are compared in Figure d with that of reported aerogels and polymer composites based on carbonic and/or ceramic nanomaterials. Notably, the optimized k of our hybrid aerogel far suppresses those of thermally conductive aerogels based on CNTs, ,, CVD-derived graphene (G), rGO, ,, BNNSs, ,− BNNRs, , BNNT, SiCNWs, and their combinations , (for details, please see Table S1). This value is also comparable to those of polymer composites filled with BNNSs (see refs.…”

“…To date, the effective integration of elasticity and high thermal and electrical conductivity into one aerogel remains a great challenge. For instance, the aerogels built from oxide ceramic (SiO 2 , TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and BaTiO 3 ) nanofibers, − silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNW), , boron nitride nanotubes/nanosheets/nanoribbons (BNNT/BNNS/BNNR), − silicon nitride nanowires/nanoribbons, , reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets, − and carbon nanotubes/nanofibers (CNT/CNF) − have been fabricated with large and recoverable deformability (reaching 60–99% compressive strain), but are usually electrically and thermally insulating. Different from structures formed with a small piece of rGO sheets, the 3D graphene networks prepared by nickel foam template-directed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) exhibit high electrical conductivity (100–1800 S m –1 ). − The integrated 3D structure of graphene acts the key role in the high conductivity, since the smoothly interconnected network reduces the interfacial area of discrete rGO sheets in self-assembled aerogels, and paves long-range paths with extremely low interfacial contact resistance for carrier transportation.…”

3D Printed Polyimide Nanocomposite Aerogels for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding and Thermal Management

“…Additive manufacturing has endowed aerogels with designable and complex geometries toward customized applications. [6][7][8][9] The combination of low thermal conductivity and versatile structural and component design increases the potential of the 3D printed aerogels for customized thermal management [10,11] and catalysis. [6] Reported processes for aerogel additive manufacturing include three or four steps: development of a printable ink formulation, which is the primary and key challenge, followed by 3D printing of the desired geometry, optional post-curing steps for solidification or chemical modification, and finally applying an appropriate drying technique to maintain the shape fidelity and pore structure.…”

Mullite Nanosheet/Titania Nanorod/Silica Composite Aerogels for High-Temperature Thermal Insulation

“…3 In addition, in the aerospace and cogeneration industry fields, there is an urgent need for efficient insulation materials with excellent thermal and chemical stability to ensure equipment safety. 4 High-temperature insulation aerogel materials, such as SiC, 5,6 Si 3 N 4 , 7−9 BN, 10 SiO 2 , 11 and Al 2 O 3 , 12,13 have been developed considerably in recent years. However, practical application scenarios in high-temperature environments are often under oxygenated conditions, and among these materials, SiC, Si 3 N 4 , and BN, are not resistant to oxidative corrosion at high temperatures.…”

“…High-temperature insulation aerogel materials, such as SiC, , Si 3 N 4 , − BN, SiO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 , , have been developed considerably in recent years. However, practical application scenarios in high-temperature environments are often under oxygenated conditions, and among these materials, SiC, Si 3 N 4 , and BN, are not resistant to oxidative corrosion at high temperatures.…”