Abstract Novel self-reinforcing ZrO2–SiO2 aerogels with high mechanical strength and ultralow thermal conductivity are fabricated by impregnating hydrolyzed ZrO2–SiO2 sol into wet gel matrix and drying. The ZrO2–SiO2 sol fills the macropores and defects of ZrO2–SiO2 aerogel matrix generating during the gelation process, which contributes to the improvement of the mechanical properties of the ZrO2–SiO2 aerogel matrix. The mechanical and thermal properties of the as-prepared ZrO2–SiO2 aerogel are investigated and discussed. The results show that the mechanical strength of the self-reinforcing aerogels obviously increases from 0.51 to 3.11 MPa with the increase of impregnation times, while the thermal conductivity of the aerogels slightly increases from 0.0235 to 0.0306 W m−1 K−1. The novel self-reinforcing ZrO2–SiO2 aerogel could have interesting applications in aerospace and energy because of its outstanding mechanical and thermal properties.

中文翻译：

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具有高机械强度和超低热导率的新型自增强 ZrO 2 -SiO 2 气凝胶

摘要 通过将水解后的 ZrO2-SiO2 溶胶浸渍到湿凝胶基质中并干燥，制备了具有高机械强度和超低热导率的新型自增强 ZrO2-SiO2 气凝胶。ZrO2-SiO2 溶胶填充了凝胶化过程中产生的 ZrO2-SiO2 气凝胶基体的大孔和缺陷，有助于改善 ZrO2-SiO2 气凝胶基体的力学性能。研究和讨论了所制备的 ZrO2-SiO2 气凝胶的机械和热性能。结果表明，随着浸渍次数的增加，自增强气凝胶的机械强度从0.51 MPa明显增加到3.11 MPa，而气凝胶的热导率从0.0235略微增加到0.0306 W m-1 K-1。