High-performance thermal insulating aerogels are attractive candidates for thermal protection in extreme environments. However, inorganic aerogels’ brittleness and poor machinability limit their applications, while organic aerogels suffer from severe strength degradation and structural collapse at high temperatures. Herein, for the first time, a thermo-responsive self-ceramifiable aerogel is demonstrated with exceptional strengthening and thermal insulation at high temperatures. This aerogel exhibits excellent toughness and processability like polymers under normal conditions but spontaneously transforms into high-strength semi-crystalline hard ceramics upon exposure to high temperatures. After prolonged thermal attack at 800 °C, the strength of the aerogels does not decrease but significantly increases several-fold (from 0.739 to 2.726 MPa). The self-ceramization behavior and mechanism of the aerogel are illustrated in detail. The unique self-ceramifiable capacity enables aerogels to provide fire resistance, high-strength support, and excellent thermal insulation at ultrahigh temperatures. Even with continuous burning at 1300 °C for 60 min, the 15 mm thick aerogel shows low backside temperature below 300 °C, crack-free overall structure, and invariant porous morphology. This self-ceramifiable aerogel opens up a new avenue for developing thermal-protection materials with toughness, machinability, high strength, and thermal insulation in extreme environments.

中文翻译：

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热响应自陶瓷化坚固气凝胶，在超高温下具有卓越的强化和隔热性能

高性能隔热气凝胶是极端环境下热防护的有吸引力的候选者。然而，无机气凝胶的脆性和机械加工性差限制了其应用，而有机气凝胶在高温下会遭受严重的强度退化和结构崩溃。在此，首次证明了热响应性自陶瓷气凝胶在高温下具有出色的强化和隔热性能。这种气凝胶在正常条件下像聚合物一样表现出优异的韧性和加工性能，但在暴露于高温时会自发转变为高强度半结晶硬陶瓷。经过800℃的长时间热攻击后，气凝胶的强度不但没有下降，反而显着增加了数倍（从0.739 MPa到2.726 MPa）。详细说明了气凝胶的自陶瓷化行为和机理。独特的自陶瓷化能力使气凝胶能够在超高温下提供耐火性、高强度支撑和优异的隔热性能。即使在1300℃下连续燃烧60分钟，15毫米厚的气凝胶仍显示出低于300℃的低背面温度、无裂纹的整体结构和不变的多孔形貌。这种自陶瓷化气凝胶为开发具有韧性、可加工性、高强度和极端环境下隔热的热防护材料开辟了新途径。以及超高温下优异的隔热性能。即使在1300℃下连续燃烧60分钟，15毫米厚的气凝胶仍显示出低于300℃的低背面温度、无裂纹的整体结构和不变的多孔形貌。这种自陶瓷化气凝胶为开发具有韧性、可加工性、高强度和极端环境下隔热的热防护材料开辟了新途径。以及超高温下优异的隔热性能。即使在1300℃下连续燃烧60分钟，15毫米厚的气凝胶仍显示出低于300℃的低背面温度、无裂纹的整体结构和不变的多孔形貌。这种自陶瓷化气凝胶为开发具有韧性、可加工性、高强度和极端环境下隔热的热防护材料开辟了新途径。