Lightweight and thermal insulation mullite fibers/whiskers hierarchical framework materials: Low-temperature in-situ growth method and mechanism

Mullite fibers/whiskers hierarchical structure materials (MFWs) were prepared via the three-stage method, i.e. seeds breeding, precursors introducing and whiskers growth. The mechanism of low-temperature in-situ synthesis of mullite whiskers during gas-phase reaction process has been discussed in detail. The seeds bred on mullite fibers (MFs) are the growth points and can effectively reduce the subsequent growth temperature of mullite whiskers (MWs). The precursors composed of aluminum source, silicon source and catalyst provided raw materials for whiskers growth. Under the heat treatment temperature of 800 °C, mullite seed grains were guided to in-situ transform into MWs. Moreover, MFWs fabricated via low-temperature in-situ growth mechanism on the MFs present low density (0.103–0.147 g/cm 3 ) and ultralow thermal conductivity (0.0426–0.0514 W·m −1 ·K −1 ). Due to the lower whiskers growth temperature in this work than the ones in the most recent literatures, the three-stage method can be regarded as a viable strategy for low-temperature in-situ growth whiskers.