Stable Integration of Hydrophobic Silica Aerogels into Rubber Latex <italic style="font-style: italic">via</italic> Poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted Aqueous Processing for Thermal Insulating Composites

Yan-Chun Han; Fang-Shuo Li; Jian-Chao Zhang; Quan Wang; Guo-Hui Yang; Miao Yu; Feng Wang; Yong-Xin Duan; Lu Zong; Bo-Xiao Li; Jian-Ming Zhang

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3521-5

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Stable Integration of Hydrophobic Silica Aerogels into Rubber Latex via Poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted Aqueous Processing for Thermal Insulating Composites

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-02-09

- Stable Integration of Hydrophobic Silica Aerogels into Rubber Latex via Poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted Aqueous Processing for Thermal Insulating Composites
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Pages: 821-832(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics, Ministry of Education/Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
- Author bio：
  
  bh218@qust.edu.cn (B.X.L.)
  zjm@qust.edu.cn (J.M.Z.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3521-5
  CLC：
- Received：30 October 2025，
  
  Accepted：08 December 2025，
  
  Online First：06 February 2026，
  
  Published：15 March 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Han, Y. C.; Li, F. S.; Zhang, J. C.; Wang, Q.; Yang, G. H.; Yu, M.; Wang, F.; Duan, Y. X.; Zong, L.; Li, B. X.; Zhang, J. M. Stable integration of hydrophobic silica aerogels into rubber latex via poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted aqueous processing for thermal insulating composites. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-025-3521-5

Yan-Chun Han, Fang-Shuo Li, Jian-Chao Zhang, et al. Stable Integration of Hydrophobic Silica Aerogels into Rubber Latex via Poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted Aqueous Processing for Thermal Insulating Composites[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44821-832.
Han, Y. C.; Li, F. S.; Zhang, J. C.; Wang, Q.; Yang, G. H.; Yu, M.; Wang, F.; Duan, Y. X.; Zong, L.; Li, B. X.; Zhang, J. M. Stable integration of hydrophobic silica aerogels into rubber latex via poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted aqueous processing for thermal insulating composites. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-025-3521-5 DOI：

Yan-Chun Han, Fang-Shuo Li, Jian-Chao Zhang, et al. Stable Integration of Hydrophobic Silica Aerogels into Rubber Latex via Poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted Aqueous Processing for Thermal Insulating Composites[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44821-832. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3521-5.

摘要

This study reveals the decisive role of surface chemistry in aqueous stability. Using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as an amphiphilic bridge

methyl-modified aerogels were stably integrated into rubber latex

yielding composites with exceptional thermal and chemical resistance.

Abstract

Silica aerogels (SAs) impart low density and excellent thermal insulation to polymer systems

yet incorporating hydrophobic SAs into aqueous rubber latex systems remains challenging owing to their poor dispersibility and potential to destabilize the latex. Although previous studies have dispersed SAs in aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)

the stability of such dispersions and their effectiveness as bridging media for latex integration have not been thoroughly evaluated

which limits their practical application in latex compounding. This study systematically examined how the surface chemistry governs hydrolytic stability

interfacial behavior

and latex compatibility in PVA-assisted aqueous processing. Two hydrophobic SAs were prepared: ethoxy-modified SA (E-SA) and methyl-modified SA (M-SA). Both initially formed a homogeneous PVA slurry

but E-SA rapidly hydrolyzed its surface ―OCH

groups

releasing ethanol

becoming hydrophilic

and undergoing irreversible nanopore collapse. In contrast

M-SA maintains its structural integrity and hydrophobicity because its ―Si(CH

)

groups are highly resistant to hydroly

sis. This divergence dictates the behavior during latex blending. The ethanol released from E-SA disrupts electrostatic and steric stabilization

inducing latex coagulation

whereas M-SA/PVA dispersions preserve colloidal stability across diverse latex systems. As a practical demonstration

M-SA-reinforced chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) rubber latex composites show more than a 50% reduction in thermal conductivity while maintaining chemical resistance

enabling high-performance insulating protective gloves and coatings. This work establishes a critical link between aerogel surface chemistry and aqueous processing stability

providing a mechanistic foundation for the rational design of water-based rubber/silica aerogel composites and next-generation thermal insulation materials.

关键词

Keywords

references

Kistler, S. S. Coherent expanded aerogels and jellies. Nature 1931 , 127 , 741..

Meti, P.; Mahadik, D. B.; Lee, K. Y.; Wang, Q.; Kanamori, K.; Gong, Y. D.; Park, H. H. Overview of organic–inorganic hybrid silica aerogels: progress and perspectives. Mater. Des. 2022 , 222 , 111091..

Shao, Z.-D.; Cheng, X.; Zheng, Y.-M. Facile co-precursor sol-gel synthesis of a novel amine-modified silica aerogel for high efficiency carbon dioxide capture. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2018 , 530 , 412−423..

Xi, S.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, X.; Cao, K.; Su, J.; Shen, J.; Wang, X. Fire-resistant polyimide-silica aerogel composite aerogels with low shrinkage, low density and high hydrophobicity for aerospace applications. Polym. Test. 2023 , 129 , 108259..

Lu, J.; Jiang, J.; Lu, Z.; Li, J.; Niu, Y.; Yang, Y. Pore structure and hardened properties of aerogel/cement composites based on nanosilica and surface modification. Constr. Build. Mater. 2020 , 245 , 118434..

Chen, Y. X.; Klima, K. M.; Brouwers, H. J. H.; Yu, Q. Effect of silica aerogel on thermal insulation and acoustic absorption of geopolymer foam composites: the role of aerogel particle size. Compos. Part B Eng. 2022 , 242 , 110048..

Wang, J.; Yuan, D.; Hu, P.; Wang, Y.; Wang, J.; Li, Q. Optical design of silica aerogels for on-demand thermal management. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2023 , 33 , 2300441..

Yu, Z. L.; Ma, Z. Y.; Yao, H. X.; Qin, B.; Gao, Y. C.; Xia, Z. J.; Huang, Z. H.; Yin, Y. C.; Tu, H.; Ye, H.; Yu, S. H. Economical architected foamy aerogel coating for energy conservation and flame resistance. ACS Mater. Lett. 2022 , 4 , 1453−1461..

Zhang, Y.; Jia, S.; Yuan, X.; Ding, L.; Ai, T.; Yuan, K.; Wang, W.; Magagnin, L.; Jiang, Z. High-efficiency removal of Pb (II) and Cu (II) by amidoxime functionalized silica aerogels: preparation, adsorption mechanisms and environmental impacts analysis. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2024 , 335 , 126079..

Hwang, S. W.; Kim, T. Y.; Hyun, S. H. Optimization of instantaneous solvent exchange/surface modification process for ambient synthesis of monolithic silica a erogels. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2008 , 322 , 224−230..

Icin, O.; Vakifahmetoglu, C. Design and performance of SiOC foam-silica aerogel composites for hot and cold thermal management applications. Ceram. Int. 2025 , 51 , 24859−24867..

Rezaei, S.; Zolali, A. M.; Jalali, A.; Park, C. B. Strong, highly hydrophobic, transparent, and super-insulative polyorganosiloxane-based aerogel. Chem. Eng. J. 2021 , 413 , 127488..

Chen, L.; Li, L.; Zhang, X. Solvent-regulable interfacial groups enable on-demand superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic silica aerogels. Nat. Commun. 2025 , 16 , 2228..

Luo, T.; Zeng, W. W.; Zhang, R.; Zhou, C.; Yang, X.; Ren, Z. Hydrophobic modification of silica surfaces via grafting alkoxy groups. ACS Appl. Electron. Mater. 2021 , 3 , 1691−1698..

Boonrawd, C.; Triampo, D.; Benyahia, L. Structure and rheological properties of silica aerogel/natural rubber latex-based slurries and composites. Colloids Surf. Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 2023 , 664 , 131163..

Boonrawd, C.; Yodyingyong, S.; Benyahia, L.;Triampo, D. Novel solvent-latex mixing: thermal insulation performance of silica aerogel/natural rubber composite. Gels 2022 , 8 , 7..

Zhang, J.; Han, Y.; Zhang, L.; Li, Z.; Yang, H.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, J. Silica aerogel-PVA dough: a high internal phase composite with superior thermal insulation and gas barrier. Compos. Sci. Technol. 2024 , 251 , 110553..

Duan, D.; Gao, X.; Dong, Y.; Qi, X.; Zhang, X.; Islam, M. D. Z.; Wu, Y.; Zhao, X.; Li, X. Green preparation of thermal-insulative, flame retardant, and hydrophobic silica aerogel reinforced poly(vinyl alcohol) composites. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2022 , 4 , 7352−7362..

Kim, H. M.; Noh, Y. J.; Yu, J.; Kim, S. Y.; Youn, J. R. Silica aerogel/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) insulation composites with preserved aerogel pores using interfaces between the superhydrophobic aerogel and hydrophilic PVA solution. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf. 2015 , 75 , 39−45..

[Natha pong Sukhawipat, N. S., Pamela Pasetto, Jean-Francois Pilard, Sophie Bistac, Anuwat Saetung A novel high adhesion cationic waterborne polyurethane for green coating applications. Prog. Org. Coat . 2020, 148 , 105854..

Tagliaro, I.; Di Credico, B.; Moncho-Jorda, A. Electrostatic depletion effects on the stability of colloidal dispersions of sepiolite and natural rubber latex. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2020 , 560 , 606−617..

Raeisi Estabragh, M. A.; Sajadi Bami, M.; Dehghannoudeh, G.; Noudeh, Y. D.; Moghimipour, E. Cellulose derivatives and natural gums as gelling agents for preparation of emulgel-based dosage forms: a brief review. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2023 , 241 , 124538..

Sun, D.; Wang, Y.; Gao, J.; Liu, S.; Liu, X. Insights into the relation of crude oil components and surfactants to the stability of oily wastewater emulsions: influence of asphaltenes, colloids, and nonionic surfactants. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2023 , 307 , 122804..

Lin, D.; Li, Y.; Huang, Y.; Qin, W.; Loy, D. A.; Chen, H.; Zhang, Q.; Wu, Z. Properties of polyvinyl alcohol films reinforced by citric acid modified cellulose nanocrystals and silica aerogels. Carbohydr. Polym. 2022 , 298 , 120116..

Chen, C.; Ding, R.; Yang, S.; Wang, J.; Chen, W.; Zong, L.; Xie, J. Development of thermal insulation packaging film based on poly(vinyl alcohol) incorporated with silica aerogel for food packaging application. Lwt 2020 , 129 , 109568..

Lee, K. J.; Choe, Y. J.; Kim, Y. H.; Lee, J. K.; Hwang, H. J. Fabrication of silica aerogel composite blankets from an aqueous silica aerogel slurry. Ceram. Int. 2018 , 44 , 2204−2208..

Zhang, J.; Huang, S.; Kong, L.; Sakdapipanich, J.; Zhang, R.; Xie, Z.; Wu, J. Unveiling the hierarchical microstructure of prevulcanized natural rubber latex film and its impact on mechanical properties. Macromolecules 2024 , 57 , 11727−11737..

Luo, E. T.; Jing, L.; Kong, L. M.; Peng, Y.; Luo, H.; Zhao, L. J.; Xie, Z. T.; Wu, J. R. Revealing the effect of non-rubber components of natural rubber on its radiation resistance performance. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025 , 43 , 1190−1199..

Kong, L.; Zhang, J.; Huang, S.; Zhang, R.; Li, J.; Xie, Z.; Wu,J. Designing highly entangled, homogeneous , and low-defect networks for high-performance rubbers. Macromolecules 2025 , 58 , 3109−3118..

Prakash, S. S.; Brinker, C. J.; Hurd, A. J.; Rao, S. M. Silica aerogel films prepared at ambient pressure by using surface derivatization to induce reversible drying shrinkage. Nature 1995 , 374 , 439−443..

Su, B.; Yang, J.; Xiong, C.; Song, J.; Hu, J.; Wei, Z.; Huang, G.; Rao, P.; Guo, H. Enhancing moisture-resistance in polyimide aerogels: A novel hydrophobic modification approach with ortho-positioned long-chain barriers. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2025 , 678 , 977−986..

Palakurthy, S.; Houben, L.; Elbaum, M.; Elbaum, R. Silica biomineralization with lignin involves Si–O–C bonds that stabilize radicals. Biomacromolecules 2024 , 25 , 3409−3419..

Wu, X.; Yu, S.; Li, Y. SiOC films on C/C composite prepared by chemical vapor deposition with hexamethyldisilazane precursor. Ceram. Int. 2022 , 48 , 20887−20894..

Zhou, Z.-Y.; Wang, Q.; Lin, J.-L.; Tian, N.; Sun, S.-G. In situ FTIR spectrosco pic studies of electrooxidation of ethanol on Pd electrode in alkaline media. Electrochim. Acta 2010 , 55 , 7995−7999..

Sangeetha, T.; P., D.; R., S.; A., E.; and Arivazhagan, G. Hydrogen bond complexation of ethanol with chlorobenzene: FTIR studies. Phys. Chem. Liq. 2025 , 63 , 1−12..

Luan, P.; Dong, X.; Liu, L.; Xiao, J.; Zhang, P.; Zhang, J.; Chi, H.; Wang, Q.; Ding, C.; Li, R.; Li, C. Selective electrosynthesis of ethanol via asymmetric C–C coupling in tandem CO 2 reduction. ACS Catal. 2024 , 14 , 8776−8785..

Bannov, A. G.; Golovakhin, V.; Gudyma, T. y. S.; Kurmashov, P. B. Influence of ball milling on the electrical properties of epoxy composites filled with carbon nanofibers. Diamond Relat. Mater. 2025 , 152 , 111909..

Xia, Y.; Liu, L.; Huang, J.; Wang, F.; Bao, J.; Chen, Z.; Qiu, J.; Yang, H.; Luo, R. A new strategy to prepare MLG-SiCw/SiCp composites via three-roll milling exfoliation and catalytical-conversion for advanced refractories. Ceram. Int. 2024 , 50 , 49853−49861..

Kim, J.-H.; Park, S.-H.; Chung, C.-W. The properties of cement paste incorporating multi wall carbon nanotube solution prepared through bead mill and high-pressure homogenizer process with polycarboxylate ester. Constr. Build. Mater. 2022 , 337 , 127598..

Shin, J.; Seo, B.; Choi, K.; Park, D.; Lee, H. J.; Kim, H.; Shin, D.; Park, B. J.; Kim, J. W. Charge-directed nanocellulose assembly for interfacial phase-transfer catalysis. Adv. Mater. 2025 , 37 , 2418325..

Keane, R. K.; Hong, W.; He, W.; Teale, S.; Bancroft, R.; Dinsmore, A. D. Adsorption of hydrophilic silica nanoparticles at oil–water interfaces with reversible emulsion stabilization by ion partitioning. Langmuir 2022 , 38 , 2821−2831..

Tan, S.; Xu, X.; Zhang, T.; Li, M.; Liu, X.; Claesson, P. M.; Fang, Y. Emulsion stabilized by biocompatible and stimuli-responsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-based microgels: Effects of electrostatic repulsion and deformability on emulsion stability. Langmuir 2024 , 40 , 16946−16958..

Zhang, N.; Pang, Y.; Li, Z.; Yang, C.; Zong, L.; Yang, H.; Wu, H.; Duan, Y.; Zhang, J. Rubber-like and biodegradable poly (vinyl alcohol) composites with triple networks for high-efficiency s olvent barrier. Compos. Sci. Technol. 2023 , 231 , 109801..

Views

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Tools

Publicity Resources

Sustainable Flame-retardant and Tough Poly(vinyl alcohol) Films with Phytic Acid and Biochar: A Simple and Effective Approach

Improving Thermal-oxidative Aging Resistance of Styrene-butadiene Rubber by Antioxidant Loaded Silica Aerogel

High Performance of PVA Nanocomposite Reinforced by Janus-like Asymmetrically Oxidized Graphene: Synergetic Effect of H-bonding Interaction and Interfacial Crystallization

Coalescence Suppression in Flowing Polymer Blends Using Silica Rods with Different Surface Chemistries

Related Author

Tong-Hui Pan

Shao-Ping Qian

Jia-Xi Zhang

Chang-Fa Zhu

Hong-Wei He

Xue-Fei Ping

Yu Wang

Lu Liu

Related Institution

Key Laboratory of Impact and Safety Engineering, Ministry of Education, Ningbo University

School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University

Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University

Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology

⁰

Stable Integration of Hydrophobic Silica Aerogels into Rubber Latex via Poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted Aqueous Processing for Thermal Insulating Composites

DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3521-5

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references