Cogel Strategy for the Preparation of a “Thorn”-Like Porous Halloysite/Gelatin Composite Aerogel with Excellent Mechanical Properties and Thermal Insulation

作者：Fuxing Zhao, Hao Liu, Hanxin Li, Yixin Cao, Xuyu Hua, Shengzhuo Ge, Yu He, Chongwen Jiang, HE De-wen · 发表于：ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1021/acsami.1c23647 · 被引用次数：41 · 研究领域：Aerogels and thermal insulation、Supercapacitor Materials and Fabrication、Advanced Cellulose Research Studies

This work presents the preparation and property characterization of a biomass gelatin (GA)-based aerogel. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were used to improve the mechanical strength, pore size distribution, and thermal stability of the aerogel. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) and (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) were utilized to increase the interfacial interaction between HNTs and GA through chemical cross-linking. Green, sustainable, and low-cost composite aerogels were prepared by “cogel” and freeze-drying techniques. The experimental results show that the HNTs/GA composite aerogel has a low density (31.98–57.48 mg/cm 3 ), a high porosity (>95%), a low thermal conductivity (31.85–40.16 mW m –1 K –1 ), and superior moldability. In addition, the mechanical strength and thermal insulation properties of the HNTs/GA composite aerogels with a “thorn”-like lamellar porous network structure are different in the axial direction versus the radial direction. The maximum compressive strength, maximum compressive modulus, and corresponding specific modulus in the axial direction were 1.81 MPa, 5.45 MPa, and 94.8 kN m kg –1, respectively. Therefore, the biomass/clay composite aerogel will be a sustainable and renewable functional material with high mechanical strength and thermal insulation properties, which is expected to further promote biomass and clay for high value utilization.