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DOE OSTI2023

Hierarchical Cellulose Superinsulation Membrane

The environment-friendly components coupled with the ability to mimic the simplicity and originality of nature necessitate advanced sustainable materials with structural capabilities for energy-efficient applications. The use of feedstock deriving from plant-based, renewable organic material to produce nanofibril that embodies enhanced insulating properties and high mechanical strength constitutes an efficient development strategy. In this work, a free-standing, hierarchical superinsulation membrane by leveraging the principle of the bottom-up method is reported. The electrospun cellulose nanofibrils/aerogel-based core layer provides exceptional thermal properties with its thermal conductivity of 10.2 mW m –1 K –1 . The lightweight, flexible, and durable paper-like membrane features a tensile strength of 11.3 MPa and a bending rigidity in the order of 4.6 cN mm –1 . The hydrophobic superinsulation membrane material also exhibits a ΔT of ≈25 °C under continuous sunlight illumination and allows thermal runaway mitigation of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. All the aforementioned properties position this hybrid superinsulation membrane as a promising material for energy-saving thermal management applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Bioinspired Dry‐Steam Superinsulation Straw Foam

Abstract Cellulosic materials offer sustainable advantages for building energy conservation. However, their development has been hindered by reduced thermal performance, often caused by structural collapse during the transition from solution to solid. Inspired by natural goose down, a bio‐based, lightweight insulation foam derived from agricultural waste straw is presented. Through in situ synthesis, bio‐silica fibers with branched structures capable of supporting hollow silica microspheres are fabricated. After steam‐mediated processing, the resulting foam exhibit low density (95 mg cm − 3 ), high porosity (95.5%), low thermal conductivity (0.03 ± 0.003 W mK −1 ), and a cyclic compressive strength of 90 kPa at 50% strain. Owing to the synergistic microstructure formed by branched bio‐fibers and hollow silica spheres, the bio‐silica foam exhibit outstanding thermal insulation performance relative to other bio‐based foams prepared by ambient drying. A passivated insulation panel is further developed by incorporating this material as the core component, achieving a thermal conductivity of 0.0275 W mk −1 and flexural strength of 6.85 MPa. The panel demonstrated durability with stable thermal performance throughout a 60‐day outdoor test. Moreover, the bio‐silica foam shows a carbon footprint of 7.50 kgCO₂ kg −1 at 70.2 wt.% silica, highlighting its promise as a sustainable insulation solution for green buildings.

Chemistry↗

DOE OSTI2025

Inexpensive Superinsulation for Cryogenic and Highly Insulating Applications (CRADA Final Report)

This effort will use our novel insulation formed into effective “solid” (as compared to powder) insulating panels and/or wraps to demonstrate important technical achievements including scaling appropriate crosslinking to directly and cost effectively address vacuum insulated panel (VIP) applications and cryogenic component wrapping to help reduce energy use. This project will improve and scale-up processes (from 3” diameter disks) to make larger samples (e.g., 12” x 12” x 1”) Wow, cfor external evaluation and testing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Carbon-Sequestration Straw Cellulose-Aerogel Gradient Thermal Insulation Material

Green superinsulation materials are essential for net-zero sustainable building envelopes. Realizing such potential is indispensable for simultaneously achieving carbon-sequestration and superinsulation performance. Here, we report the synthesis of a water glass-based silica aerogel exhibiting a thermal conductivity of 17.2 mW/m·K and a high porosity of 92%. Here, we used carbon-sequestration wheat straw fiber to create a gradient cellulose-aerogel composite to improve mechanical stability. The as-prepared gradient composite exhibits a thermal conductivity of 27.1 mW/m·K and a flexural modulus of 824 MPa, while exhibiting superhydrophobicity (water contact angle of 135.4°) for the development of green building insulation materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Mutually magnetically insulated two-species Brillouin flow

In this work, we use the Brillouin flow analytic framework to examine the physics of Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines (MITL). Here, we derive a model applicable to any particle species, including both positive and negative ions, in planar and cylindrical configurations. We then show how to self-consistently solve for two-species simultaneously, using magnetically insulated electrons and positive ions as an example. We require both layers to be spatially separated and magnetically insulated (mutually magnetically insulated); for a 7.5 cm gap with a 2 MV bias voltage, this condition requires magnetic fields in excess of 2.73 T. We see a close match between mutually insulated MITL performance and “superinsulated” (high degree of magnetic insulation) electron-only theory, as may be expected for these high magnetic fields. However, the presence of ions leads to several novel effects: (1) Opposite to electron-only theory, total electron currents increase rather than decrease as the degree of magnetic insulation becomes stronger. The common assumption of neglecting electrons for superinsulated MITL operation must be revisited when ions are present—we calculate up to 20× current enhancement. (2) The electron flow layer thickness increases up to double, due to ion space-charge enhancement. (3) The contributions from both ions and electrons to the MITL flow impedance are calculated. The flow impedance drops by over 50% when ions fill the gap, which can cause significant reflections at the load if not anticipated and degrade performance. Additional effects and results from the inclusion of the ion layer are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗