Cellulose/silica composite microtubular superfoam with excellent flame retardancy, thermal insulation and ablative resistance

Abstract

Thermal insulation materials with good flame-retardant properties have attracted widespread attention because of their huge application potential. Traditional petrochemical-based polymer insulation materials are flammable and have problems with environmental pollution. The microtubule structure is a perfect microstructure with excellent thermal insulation performance. In addition, the microtubule structure also has low density and high elasticity. Therefore, the microtubule structure is an important reference microstructure for the development of efficient thermal insulation materials. In this paper, a cellulose/SiO₂ composite microtube thermal insulation superfoam has been successfully prepared. Cellulose microtubules were successfully prepared from poplar sawdust by chemical methods. The SiO₂ aerogel precursor solution can be quickly adsorbed by the delignified cellulose microtubes. The SiO₂ aerogel shells are evenly distributed only on the inner and outer walls of the delignified cellulose microtubes. The cellulose/SiO₂ microtube composite (CSMC) superfoam exhibits low density, good mechanical properties, and low thermal conductivity (as low as 0.042 ± 0.0018 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹). The CSMC superfoam exhibits excellent self-extinguishing and flame-retardant properties. After being burned by a butane flame, the superfoam still has certain mechanical properties. The thermal conductivity of the B-CSMC superfoam (the CSMC superfoam burned by a butane flame) is about 0.050 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. The B-CSMC superfoam remained almost unchanged after being continuously ablated by a butane flame for 3600 seconds.