Direct Assembly of Grooved Micro/Nanofibrous Aerogel for High-Performance Thermal Insulation via Electrospinning

Abstract

Maintaining human body temperature in both high and low-temperature environments is fundamental to human survival, necessitating high-performance thermal insulation materials to prevent heat exchange with the external environment. Currently, most fibrous thermal insulation materials are characterized by large weight, suboptimal thermal insulation, and inferior mechanical and waterproof performance, thereby limiting their effectiveness in providing thermal protection for the human body. In this study, lightweight, waterproof, mechanically robust, and thermal insulating polyamide-imide (PAI) grooved micro/nanofibrous aerogels were efficiently and directly assembled by electrospinning. The grooved micro/nanofibrous aerogels were directly prepared by controlling the relative humidity and solvent evaporation rate, as well as regulating the charge jet density and phase separation behavior. The prepared aerogel exhibited ultralight performance with a density of 4.4 mg cm^–3, hydrophobic liquid-repelling performance with a contact angle of 137.4°, and ultralow thermal conductivity (0.02586 W m^–1 k^–1), making it an ideal material for maintaining thermal comfort in complex environments. This work provides valuable insights into the design and development of high-performance fiber insulation materials.