Unusual flexibility of transparent poly(methylsilsesquioxane) aerogels by surfactant-induced mesoscopic fiber-like assembly.

ABSTRACT: High-performance thermal insulators represented by aerogels are regarded as one of the most promising materials for energy savings. However, significantly low mechanical strength has been a barrier for aerogels to be utilized in various social domains such as houses, buildings, and industrial plants. Here, we report a synthetic strategy to realize highly transparent aerogels with unusually high bending flexibility based on poly(methylsilsesquioxane) (PMSQ) network. We have constructed mesoscopic fine fiber-like structures of various sizes in PMSQ gels by the combination of phase separation suppression by tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) and mesoscopic fiber-like assembly by nonionic poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO) type surfactant.

SUBMITTER: Ueoka R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10784555 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature