A (Ce0.2Sm0.2Gd0.2Nd0.2Y0.2)2Zr2O7-ZrO2 ceramic fiber aerogel with excellent thermal insulation properties

In this work, a (Ce 0.2 Sm 0.2 Gd 0.2 Nd 0.2 Y 0.2 ) 2 Zr 2 O 7 -ZrO 2 ceramic fiber aerogel was successfully prepared by combining airflow spinning and high-temperature pyrolysis method using rare earth carbonates as raw materials. XRD, TEM, and EDS analyses showed that the (Ce 0.2 Sm 0.2 Gd 0.2 Nd 0.2 Y 0.2 ) 2 Zr 2 O 7 -ZrO 2 ceramic fiber aerogel exhibited a composite structure of defective fluorite and cubic zirconia phases after heat treatment at 1200 °C, with a uniform distribution of rare earth elements. The aerogel was able to achieve excellent compression resilience when compressed in liquid nitrogen, room temperature and alcohol lamp flame. In addition, the thermal conductivity of (Ce 0.2 Sm 0.2 Gd 0.2 Nd 0.2 Y 0.2 ) 2 Zr 2 O 7 -ZrO 2 ceramic fiber aerogel was about 31.9   mW·m -1 ·K -1 at room temperature, and the ceramic fiber aerogel could reduce the high temperature of 1200 °C to about 323 °C with 10   mm thickness and remain stable. The infrared reflectance of the ceramic fiber aerogel after heat treatment at 1000 °C is 91.7%, which demonstrates excellent thermal radiation shielding capability.