Flexible, fatigue resistant, and heat-insulated nanofiber-assembled polyimide aerogels with multifunctionality

Xianbo Hou, Rubing Zhang*, Daining Fang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ultralight flexible polymers enable promising application in many fields but are often hindered by low reusability with fatigue failure, weak mechanical stability and low temperature resistance. Here, superelastic polyimide nanofiber aerogels (PNFAs) with high hydrophobicity have been prepared by utilizing the polyamic acid (PAA) nanofibers to construct a continuous and isotropic fibrous architecture. “Fiber-bonding” effect is designed to endow the PNFAs with the structure-derived superelasticity. The results demonstrate that the PNFAs possess ultralight densities (9.7–19.1 mg cm−3), excellent absorption capacity (58 times for n-hexane), broad working-temperature range, high resilience after 1000 fatigue cycles at 60% strain, and outstanding thermal insulation performance. Analysis of 50 absorption-harvesting cycle tests reveals that these highly hydrophobic PNFAs possess an ultrahigh reusability. The compressed PNFAs return to their original shape after they are distilled to recover the absorbed pollutants. These PNFAs with high absorption capacity and robust mechanical stability are promising to be applied in a variety of industrial and environmental applications.

Original languageEnglish
Article number106246
JournalPolymer Testing
Volume81
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2020

Keywords

  • Heat insulation
  • Nanofiber aerogel
  • Oil/water separation
  • Polyimide
  • Superelasticity

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Flexible, fatigue resistant, and heat-insulated nanofiber-assembled polyimide aerogels with multifunctionality'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this