Micro-Rebar Architecture Enable Fire-Safety and Tough PVA/AG Aerogels

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Lightweight polymers and aerogels are widely used but suffer from flammability and smoke toxicity.
• Existing materials require improvement for enhanced fire safety in critical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly effective flame-retardant aerogel composite with minimal additive loading.
• To investigate the synergistic flame-retardant mechanisms of integrated components.

Main Methods:

• Constructed a reinforced Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Agarose (PVA/AG) dual network.
• Anchored tannic-acid (TA) modulated MIL-88B@hydroxyapatite (MH) via interfacial coassembly.
• Evaluated fire safety performance and analyzed flame-retardant mechanisms.

Main Results:

• The composite (2 wt% MH) showed significant reductions: 42.26% in total heat release, 36.11% in peak heat release rate, 63.65% in total smoke release, and 23.81% in peak smoke production rate.
• Identified a multiphase synergistic mechanism involving Fe3+ catalyzed char graphitization, hydroxyapatite (HAP) ceramic formation, and TA radical scavenging.
• Demonstrated suppressed heat and mass transport due to homogeneous component distribution.

Conclusions:

• Precise hybridization and interfacial integration of components yield superior flame retardancy at minimal loading.
• The developed aerogel composite offers a promising strategy for enhancing fire safety in aerospace, construction, and energy storage.