Key Laboratory of Multifunctional Nanomaterials and Smart Systems, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, China.
School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
Macromol Rapid Commun. 2023 Apr;44(8):e2200948. doi: 10.1002/marc.202200948. Epub 2023 Feb 3.
Personal thermal management (PTM) materials have attracted increasing attention owing to their application for personal comfort in an energy-saving mode. However, they normally work in the same media such as in the air, and little is known about what will happen in other media like water. In this study, a system for cross-media thermal management (CMTM): passive cooling in air and thermal insulation underwater is proposed. Hybrid aerogels comprising thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix and superhydrophobic silica aerogel particle (SSAP) for CMTM are designed and synthesized using a thermally induced phase separation and self-templating strategy. The TPU matrix endows the aerogels with super stretchability (500%), shape memory, and outstanding healing recovery rate (89.9%), which are ideal characteristics for potential wearable usage. Additionally, the TPU and SSAP endow the aerogel with high solar reflectivity and infrared emissivity, thus achieving a sub-ambient cooling of 10.6 °C in air. Moreover, the SSAP endows the aerogels with low thermal conductivity (0.052 W m ·K ) and high hydrophobicity (143°), enabling the aerogels for underwater thermal insulation. The CMTM performance of the aerogels makes them for potential uses in cross-media environments such as reefs and islands where cooling in air and thermal insulation in water are required.
个人热管理（PTM）材料因其在节能模式下为个人舒适而应用的特点，引起了越来越多的关注。然而，它们通常在相同的介质中工作，如空气，而对于在其他介质中，如水中，它们会发生什么情况则知之甚少。在本研究中，提出了一种跨介质热管理（CMTM）系统：空气的被动冷却和水下的隔热。采用热诱导相分离和自模板策略，设计并合成了包含热塑性聚氨酯（TPU）基体和超疏水二氧化硅气凝胶颗粒（SSAP）的混合气凝胶，用于 CMTM。TPU 基体赋予气凝胶超拉伸性（500%）、形状记忆和出色的愈合恢复率（89.9%），这是潜在可穿戴应用的理想特性。此外，TPU 和 SSAP 赋予气凝胶高太阳光反射率和红外发射率，从而在空气中实现 10.6°C 的亚环境冷却。此外，SSAP 赋予气凝胶低导热系数（0.052 W m·K）和高疏水性（143°），使气凝胶可用于水下隔热。气凝胶的 CMTM 性能使其可潜在用于需要空气冷却和水隔热的跨介质环境，如珊瑚礁和岛屿。
