Think Tank

[Frontier of Science and Technology] I Scientist Developed New Insulating Nanomaterials

2023-05-26   

Recently, a team of academicians Yu Shuhong from the University of Science and Technology of China has developed a high-performance cellulose based nanopaper material that can maintain excellent mechanical and electrical insulation properties under extreme conditions. The relevant achievements were recently published in Advanced Materials. With the deepening of human exploration of extreme environments such as Antarctica, the moon, and Mars, the continuous emergence of extreme environmental conditions, including strong ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, and alternating high and low temperature environments, has become the main obstacle to further exploration in the future. In extreme environments, the physical and chemical properties of materials can change, and in severe cases, it can even lead to damage to important equipment and devices. Among traditional materials, metals and ceramics themselves have excellent mechanical properties and resistance to extreme environments. However, metal materials face the problem of high density and heavy weight, while ceramic materials face issues such as brittleness and difficulty in processing. Polymers have the characteristics of lightweight and plasticity, but currently, most polymer based composite materials will experience problems such as high-temperature softening and low-temperature brittleness after long-term service in extreme environments. Therefore, designing and preparing high-performance protective materials that can serve in extreme environments for a long time is one of the challenges faced in the field of materials. In nature, the "brick mud" structure of Mother of Pearl provides excellent mechanical properties. In recent years, other functions of this exquisite ordered structure, such as water and oxygen isolation, as well as uniform dispersion of energy fields, have gradually become research hotspots. Inspired by the "brick mud" structure of natural mother of pearl, researchers first used the aerosol assisted biosynthesis method, using cellulose nanofibers produced by bacteria to uniformly and closely entangle the dispersed synthetic mica nanosheets to obtain composite hydrogels, and then obtained the final nano paper material with mother of pearl structure by hot pressing. Thanks to the fine "brick clay" structure and continuous three-dimensional network inside the nanopaper, it exhibits excellent mechanical properties such as high strength, high modulus, high toughness, foldability, and bending fatigue resistance. At the same time, the "brick mud" structure inside the material fully utilizes the high dielectric strength of mica, thereby endowing the nano paper with high electrical breakdown strength. Compared with pure cellulose nano paper, the corona resistance life of the composite nano paper is significantly improved, and even exceeds that of commercial polyimide film. In addition, the high-performance cellulose based nanopaper in this study still exhibits excellent comprehensive performance under extreme conditions such as high and low temperature alternation, ultraviolet radiation, and atomic oxygen, providing an excellent choice of protective materials for future exploration of extreme environments. (Outlook New Era Network)

Edit:qihang Responsible editor:xinglan

Source:GMW.cn

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