Thermally insulating aerogel composite fiber

Abstract

The present application provides a preparation method of an all-polymer aerogel composite fiber by compounding fiber material(s) with polymer-based micro-aerogel powder using a melting process, comprising of the following steps: (a) Weighing the materials to form the aerogel composite fibers, which should compose of 0.1-20% (w/w) polymer micro-aerogel powder and 80-99.9% (w/w) fiber material(s); (a) Mixing the polymer micro-aerogel powder and fiber material(s) to form a homogenized composite mixture; and (b) Heating the composite mixture up to the melting point of the fiber material(s) to disperse the polymer micro-aerogels throughout the molten fiber material(s), then extruded to form aerogel composite fibers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber, comprising of the following steps:
 (a) Weighing the materials to form the aerogel composite fibers, which should compose of 0.1-20% (w/w) polymer micro-aerogel powder and 80-99.9% (w/w) fiber material(s);   (a) Mixing the polymer micro-aerogel powder and fiber material(s) to form a homogenized composite mixture; and   (b) Heating the composite mixture up to the melting point of the fiber material(s) to disperse the polymer micro-aerogels throughout the molten fiber material(s), then extruded to form aerogel composite fibers.   
     
     
         2 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the polymer micro-aerogel powder has an average particle size of 0.1-100 μm, a porous structure with an average pore size of 10-2000 nm, and a thermal conductivity of 20-100 mW/mK. 
     
     
         3 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the polymer micro-aerogel powder is prepared by dissolving 0.1-30% (w/w) of polymer in a suitable solvent at 40-80° C., then adding 0-30% (v/v) of a suitable non-solvent before the mixture is frozen, gelled in a non-solvent bath, ball-milled into microgels, washed, and lastly freeze-dried with tert-butanol. 
     
     
         4 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 3 , wherein the polymer is a polyimide or an aramid. 
     
     
         5 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 3 , wherein the solvent is a chemical that can dissolve 0-30% (w/w) of the polymer material and can accept up to 0-30% of non-solvent without the polymer material precipitating. 
     
     
         6 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 3 , wherein the non-solvent is a chemical that causes the polymer material to precipitate when added in excess. 
     
     
         7 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 3 , wherein the gelation occurs inside a refrigerator, freezer, or liquid nitrogen. 
     
     
         8 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 3 , wherein the gels are ball-milled into microgels for 0.1-48 hours. 
     
     
         9 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 3 , wherein the washing and freeze drying uses a suitable solvent that can be frozen and sublimated at a pressure below 600 Pa. 
     
     
         10 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the fiber material(s) are polyethylene terephthalate, polylactic acid, and/or nylon. 
     
     
         11 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the composite mixture is molten and formed into a fiber with melt spinning or melt extrusion. 
     
     
         12 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the fiber diameter is 10-200 μm. 
     
     
         13 . The preparation method of an aerogel composite fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the fiber shows a 1-50% reduction in thermal conductivity and a change of ±30% in fiber tenacity strength when compared to fibers produced with only the fiber material. 
     
     
         14 . An textile product, comprising the aerogel composite fibers manufactured by the preparation methodin  claim 1 .