Flexible and thermal-stable SiZrOC nanofiber membranes with low thermal conductivity at high-temperature

Ceramic nanofibers with excellent thermal stability and low thermal conductivity are highly desired for high-temperature thermal insulation applications. However, the incompatibility of thermal stability and low thermal conductivity at high-temperatures largely limit the practical use of conventional single-phase ceramic nanofibers . Here, we report the preparation of multi-phase SiZrOC nanofiber membranes (NFMs) composed of amorphous SiOC and ZrO 2 nanocrystals via electrospinning technique. The fabricated SiZrOC NFMs exhibited excellent high-temperature stability (∼1200 °C in Ar) and low thermal conductivity (∼0.1392 W m −1 K −1 at 1000 °C in N 2 ). The decreased thermal conductivity is achieved through a synergistic mechanism, that the multi-phase interfaces and the ZrO 2 nanocrystals create thermal transfer barriers to reduce the heat transfer, whilst the SiOC phase effectively suppresses radiative heat transfer. This unique combination of amorphous SiOC and ZrO 2 nanocrystals provides a novel strategy to prepare high-performance thermal insulation materials, and the obtained SiZrOC NFMs are promising high-temperature thermal insulation materials.