Dome-celled aerogels with ultrahigh-temperature superelasticity over 2273 K
Kai Pang, Yuxing Xia, Xiaoting Liu, Wenhao Tong, Xiaotong Li, Chenyang Li, Wenbo Zhao, Yan Chen, Huasong Qin, Wenzhang Fang, Peng Li, Yilun Liu, Yilun Liu, Weiwei Gao, Zhen Xu, Yingjun Liu, Yingjun Liu, Chao Gao
Abstract
Aerogels are known for their high porosity and very low density and can be made from a range of materials, but are limited by structural instability under extreme thermomechanical conditions. We report on 194 types of dome-celled ultralight aerogels that maintain superior elasticity spanning from 4.2 kelvin (K) to 2273 K, realized by a two-dimensional channel–confined chemistry method. Such aerogels exhibit superelasticity under 99% strain for 20,000 cycles and thermal shock resistance at 2273 K over 100 cycles. The high-entropy carbide aerogel achieves a thermal conductivity of 53.4 mW·m −1 ·K −1 at 1273 K and 171.1 mW·m −1 ·K −1 at 2273 K. The combination of temperature-invariant elasticity and chemical diversity makes such aerogels highly promising for extreme thermomechanics, from heat-insulated industries to deep space exploration.