Ceramizable Perforated Silicone Foam for Thermal Insulation and Refractory Building Materials

Xiang-Yuan Tian; Xin Zhang; Dian-Bo Zhang; Ya Liu; Xiao-Pei Wang; Zhen-Xiu Zhang

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3612-y

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Ceramizable Perforated Silicone Foam for Thermal Insulation and Refractory Building Materials

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-05-30

- Ceramizable Perforated Silicone Foam for Thermal Insulation and Refractory Building Materials
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 6, Pages: 1868-1882(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics, Ministry of Education/Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
- Author bio：
  
  xiaopeiwang@qust.edu.cn (X.P.W.)
  zhangzhenxiu@qust.edu.cn (Z.X.Z.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3612-y
  CLC：
- Received：24 November 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-24，
  
  Accepted：04 February 2026，
  
  Online First：09 April 2026，
  
  Published：05 June 2026
- Accepted：
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Tian, X. Y.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, D. B.; Liu, Y.; Wang, X. P.; Zhang, Z. X. Ceramizable perforated silicone foam for thermal insulation and refractory building materials. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1868–1882

Xiang-Yuan Tian, Xin Zhang, Dian-Bo Zhang, et al. Ceramizable Perforated Silicone Foam for Thermal Insulation and Refractory Building Materials[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1868-1882.
Tian, X. Y.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, D. B.; Liu, Y.; Wang, X. P.; Zhang, Z. X. Ceramizable perforated silicone foam for thermal insulation and refractory building materials. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1868–1882 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3612-y.

Xiang-Yuan Tian, Xin Zhang, Dian-Bo Zhang, et al. Ceramizable Perforated Silicone Foam for Thermal Insulation and Refractory Building Materials[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1868-1882. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3612-y.

摘要

The diagram presents two scenarios: the material undergoes ceramization at high temperatures to achieve flame retardancy and heat insulation

while retaining heat at low temperatures to reduce heat loss

demonstrating its excellent flame-retardant

heat-insulating

and thermal preservation properties.

Abstract

Liquid silicone rubber foam (LSRF) offers superior processability

high mechanical flexibility

and low thermal conductivity

which are of great significance for achieving long-term thermal insulation and fire resistance but remain challenging to achieve. We first prepared LSRF with excellent open-cell performance

achieving a water absorption rate of 242.5%

and then explored the advantages of flame-retardant solution impregnation in the open-cell structure. Meanwhile

the synergistic flame-retardant effect of kaolin (KL)

glass powder (GP)

and silica aerogel (AG) was investigated. When the composite formulation was LSRF/30KL10GP20AG

the material exhibited outstanding flame-retardant properties: the limiting oxygen index (LOI) reached 33.2%

an increase of 9% compared with unfilled LSRF

the vertical burning rating was V-0

and the water contact angle of the surface after combustion was 160.35°

meeting the superhydrophobic standard. At the same time

the sample LSRF/30KL10GP20AG showed a 49.6% reduction in peak heat release rate and an 83.8% reduction in total peak smoke production compared to LSRF. Under butane-flame impingement at 1300 °C

the flame-retardant LSRF maintained an intact structure for 120 s

with the backside temperature rising only to 219 °C

demonstrating excellent thermal insulation performance. In a high-temperature environment at 800 °C

the foam well retained its original cell structure and maintained volume stability

forming a dense

hard ceramicized carbon layer with a compressive strength of 2.69 MPa. The fillers were uniformly impregnated and distributed on the foam surface and cell walls

endowing the material with durable flame retardancy

low smoke generation

and minimal toxic gas release

effectively inhibiting the spread of flames during fires and enabling LSRF foam to be widely applied in the field of building flame retardancy.

关键词

Keywords

references

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