Controlled preparation of polyimide/polysulfone amide (PI/PSA) porous micro-nano fiber membranes by microemulsion electrospinning for excellent thermal insulation

• Published in: European polymer journal 2023-07, Vol.194, p.112170, Article 112170
• Main Authors: Zhuge, Yina, Liu, Fujuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Microemulsion electrospinning; Polyimide; Polysulfone amide; Porous; Thermal insulation
• ISSN: 0014-3057; 1873-1945
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2023.112170

[Display omitted] •The lightweight polyimide/polysulfone amide porous micro-nano fiber membrane was successfully prepared by microemulsion electrospinning combined with calcination to improve the defect of thick insulation layer of thermal protective clothing.•The polyimide/polysulfone amide porous micro-nano fiber membranes have rough fiber surfaces and hollow or porous structures.•The obtained membranes exhibit excellent mechanical properties with a fracture stress of 10.54 ± 1.96 MPa and a fracture strain of 10.88 ± 2.78 %, and low thermal conductivity with the value of 44.7 mW·m−1·k−1. In order to obtain fiber membrane materials with excellent thermal insulation properties, we successfully prepared lightweight PI/PSA porous micro-nano fiber membranes by microemulsion electrospinning technology combined with calcination in this work. The morphology, tensile strength and thermal insulation properties of the fiber membranes were fully characterized. The PI/PSA micro-nano fiber membranes prepared at the PI concentration of 17 wt%, the dispersed phase/continuous phase mass ratio of 1/10, the PI/PSA mass ratio of 7/3, and the voltage of 16 kV exhibited the best morphology and the most uniform fiber diameter. Besides, the PI/PSA porous micro-nano fiber membrane obtained after calcination had excellent tensile properties (breaking stress: 10.54 ± 1.96 MPa) and thermal insulation performance (thermal conductivity: 44.7 mW·m−1·K−1). The thermal imaging and thermocouple results showed that the thermal insulation performance of PI/PSA porous micro-nano fiber membrane was superior to that of PI/PSA membrane, and the thermal insulation properties became more excellent as the number of membrane layers increased. The PI/PSA porous micro-nano fiber membrane with low thermal conductivity acquired in this work is expected to broaden the application of protective clothing.