A flexible, sandwiched high-performance super-insulation fabric

Abstract

The rapid development of modern technology has put forward higher requirements on thermal insulation materials in many fields. Due to the inevitable defects of common insulation materials, a novel super-insulation material with high performance should be explored. In this article, a flexible, sandwiched super-insulation polyimide (PI) fabric has been designed and fabricated by using an electrohydrodynamic jet technology simply. This unique sandwiched fabric possessed an ultra-low thermal conductivity (16.7 mW m⁻¹ K⁻¹), excellent mechanical properties and a wide operating temperature range. Furthermore, it still has some other multifunctions, such as great cryogenic resistance, self-extinction and thermal stability. Such a sandwiched PI fabric with remarkable integrated performance will have potential engineering applications under harsh conditions, such as the aerospace field.