Novel Polymer Aerogel toward High Dimensional Stability, Mechanical Property, and Fire Safety

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces 2017-07, Vol.9 (27), p.22985-22993
• Main Authors: Shang, Ke, Yang, Jun-Chi, Cao, Zhi-Jie, Liao, Wang, Wang, Yu-Zhong, Schiraldi, David A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b06096

Inorganc silica-based aerogels, the earliest and widely used aerogels, have poorer mechanical properties than their organic substitutes, which are flammable. In this study, a novel polymeric aerogel with high strength, inherent flame retardancy, and cost-effectiveness, which is based on poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) cross-linked with melamine–formaldehyde (MF), was prepared under aqueous condition with an ecofriendly freeze-drying and postcuring process. Combined with the additional rigid MF network and benifited from the resulting unique infrastructure of inter-cross-linked flexible PVA segments and rigid MF segments, PVA-based aerogels exibited a significantly decreased degradation rate and sharply decreased peak heat release rate (PHRR) in cone calorimeter tests (by as much as 83%) compared with neat PVA. The polymer aerogels have a limiting oxygen index (LOI) as high as 36.5% and V-0 rating in UL-94 test. Furthermore, the aerogel samples exposured to harsh temperatures maintain their dimensions (