ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
4 years ago

Novel Polymer Aerogel toward High Dimensional Stability, Mechanical Property, and Fire Safety

Novel Polymer Aerogel toward High Dimensional Stability, Mechanical Property, and Fire Safety
David A. Schiraldi, Wang Liao, Jun-Chi Yang, Yu-Zhong Wang, Zhi-Jie Cao, Ke Shang
Inorganc silica-based aerogels, the earliest and widely used aerogels, have poorer mechanical properties than their organic substitutes, which are flammable. In this study, a novel polymeric aerogel with high strength, inherent flame retardancy, and cost-effectiveness, which is based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) cross-linked with melamine–formaldehyde (MF), was prepared under aqueous condition with an ecofriendly freeze-drying and postcuring process. Combined with the additional rigid MF network and benifited from the resulting unique infrastructure of inter-cross-linked flexible PVA segments and rigid MF segments, PVA-based aerogels exibited a significantly decreased degradation rate and sharply decreased peak heat release rate (PHRR) in cone calorimeter tests (by as much as 83%) compared with neat PVA. The polymer aerogels have a limiting oxygen index (LOI) as high as 36.5% and V-0 rating in UL-94 test. Furthermore, the aerogel samples exposured to harsh temperatures maintain their dimensions (<10% change), original mechanical strength and fire safety. Therefore, this work provides a novel stragegy for preparing pure organic polymeric aerogel materials with high mechanical strength, dimensional stability, and fire safety.

Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b06096

DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b06096

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