Programmable Shape-Morphing Enables Ceramic Meta-Aerogel Highly Stretchable for Thermal Protection

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Ceramic aerogels offer excellent thermal insulation but lack mechanical robustness for extreme conditions.
• Existing ceramic aerogels struggle with stretchability and maintaining thermal stability under stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a programmable shape-morphing strategy for ceramic aerogels.
• To engineer a binary network topology for improved mechanical and thermal properties.

Main Methods:

• Designing a binary network topology using kirigami lamellated and randomly assembled aerogels.
• Implementing a shape-morphing strategy to integrate different structural components.

Main Results:

• Achieved exceptional mechanical tensile properties up to 85% strain and high resilience over numerous cycles.
• Demonstrated temperature-invariant tensile recovery and low thermal conductivity (33.01 mW m⁻¹ K⁻¹).
• Developed ceramic meta-aerogels with enhanced structural stability and tensile-invariant thermal insulation.

Conclusions:

• The novel topology design significantly enhances ceramic aerogels' mechanical stretchability and thermal stability.
• These robust meta-aerogels are suitable for applications requiring high performance in extreme environments.
• The programmable shape-morphing strategy offers a pathway for advanced material design.