2026-10-12T06:39:48Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33961833 2026-09-22T05:06:32Z category_1 category_146 category_915 category_21 category_873 portal_63 item_type_2 month_year_09_2026

Hydrophobic, Fire–Resistant, and Compressible Aramid Nanofiber Aerogels Enabled by In Situ Polysiloxane Cross-Linking Dianming Ren (25087485) Yinghe Hu (182845) Enjie Wu (20579944) Yuan Lin (79040) Xiaoyin Wang (341450) Xupin Zhuang (4824282) Biophysics Space Science Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Biotechnology Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified water contact angle versatile design strategy resulting aerogel overcomes inherent fragility associated high absorption capacity direct flame exposure conventional physical entanglements 48 mg cm 100 cycles ), intrinsic trade – 62 – 9 excellent fire resistance integrate mechanical resilience fire – resistant linking aramid nanofiber engineering multifunctional aerogels 7 ° even situ </ italic – si situ </ fire safety mechanical robustness ultralow density thermal protection structural applications promising candidates practical applicability polysiloxane network polysiloxane cross modulus retention mechanically robust height recovery findings establish enabling retention developed using compressive strength ceramization converts Aramid nanofiber (ANF) aerogels are promising candidates for thermal protection and structural applications; however, their practical implementation remains substantially constrained by the intrinsic trade–off between mechanical robustness and fire–resistant functionality. In this study, a mechanically robust, highly hydrophobic, and fire–resistant hybrid aerogel was developed using a green high–pressure homogenization process coupled with <i>in situ</i> polysiloxane cross-linking. Through the construction of a rigid–flexible interpenetrating network, the resulting aerogel overcomes the inherent fragility associated with conventional physical entanglements while achieving an ultralow density of 4.62–9.48 mg cm^–3, pronounced superelasticity (96.7% height recovery and 79% modulus retention after 100 cycles), and excellent fire resistance (LOI = 33). Notably, the aerogel exhibits remarkable structural and functional integrity following combustion because <i>in situ</i> ceramization converts the polysiloxane network into a thermally stable Si–O–Si/Si–C barrier, enabling retention of 92% of its compressive strength while preserving substantial surface hydrophobicity, as evidenced by a water contact angle of 132.7° even after direct flame exposure. To demonstrate its practical applicability to fire–prone oil–spill scenarios, the aerogel displays synergistic adsorption and flame–retardant performance in simulated burning oil spills, with a high absorption capacity of 60–180 g g^–1 and rapid self–extinguishing behavior (<30 s). These findings establish a versatile design strategy for engineering multifunctional aerogels that integrate mechanical resilience, fire safety, and post–combustion structural integrity. 2026-09-22T00:00:00Z Dataset Media 10.1021/acsapm.6c02894.s003 https://figshare.com/articles/media/Hydrophobic_Fire_Resistant_and_Compressible_Aramid_Nanofiber_Aerogels_Enabled_by_In_Situ_Polysiloxane_Cross-Linking/33961833 CC BY-NC 4.0