Superelastic and ultralight polyimide aerogels as thermal insulators and particulate air filters†
Abstract
We utilized electrospun polyimide nanofibers as building blocks to construct a hierarchically porous architecture through freeze-drying. Superelasticity, recoverable ultimate strain of 99%, has been obtained by thermally induced intermolecular condensation. Aerogels also possess ultralow density, high-temperature stability, low thermal conductivity and excellent performance in PM2.5 filtration.