Electrostatic-driven self-assembled silica aerogel/tethacryloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride/PMMA ternary nanocomposite with thermal insulation phase interfaces

A three-dimensional (3D) porous silica aerogel (SA)/tethacryloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (MTC)/polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) (SMP) ternary nanocomposite was fabricated through electrostatic-driven self-assembly by in situ polymerisation. The as-prepared products were characterised by field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Zeta potential (ZETA), multi-assay gel permeation chromatography, the synchronous thermal analyser (TG), differential scanning calorimetry and so on. The results show that the ternary hybrid aerogels have an interconnected 3D nanoporous structure with a diameter of about 20–40 nm. Furthermore, positively charged MTC was successfully absorbed on the negatively charged SiO 2 aerogels surface to form high-thermal insulation phase interfaces. The SMP hybrid aerogels revealed a favourable mechanical property and an excellent thermal insulation property. Overall, the present study introduces the static electrical phase interfaces that are physical interactions between the silica phase and the polymer phase to distinctly improve the thermal insulation property of SiO 2 -based aerogels, which could become a promising insulating material for broadening applications.