Developing Enhanced SiTiOC/PS/TiO2 hybrid aerogels with excellent mechanical properties and ultra-low thermal conductivity

Ceramic aerogels exhibit an extremely high porosity, low weight, and exceptionally low thermal conductivity, making them suitable as insulating materials for use in challenging environments. The widespread application of conventional ceramic aerogels is typically constrained by the fragile nature of the material and its high-temperature infrared radiation transparency. Here, we successfully prepared SiTiOC/PS/TiO 2 hybrid aerogels by effectively synthesizing them using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the carbon skeleton and reinforcing them with polystyrene microspheres (PS) and PAN nanofibers loaded with TiO 2 (TiO 2 /PAN NFs), and TiO 2 /PAN NFs as shading material. This was achieved through a combination of the polymer precursor transformation method, sol-gel method, and techniques such as freeze-drying and electrostatic spinning. The findings indicated that the fabricated SiTiOC/PS/TiO 2 hybrid aerogels exhibited a lightweight structure, exceptionally high infrared reflectivity, remarkably low thermal conductivity, and outstanding mechanical characteristics. The successful synthesis of the SiTiOC/PS/TiO 2 hybrid aerogels offers a novel approach for advancing the production of various thermal insulation materials.