Abstract In the present work, a facile method was proposed to synthesize highly flexible polymethylsilsesquioxane aerogel (PMSA) monoliths by adopting methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS) as co-precursors and ammonia as a base catalyst. The sol-gel process can be completed within 15 min, and gels were directly dried by ambient pressure drying to obtain monolithic PMSAs. The PMSA had low density (as low as 0.087 g cm−3), high porosity (90.6–94.5%), macro-pore structure and low thermal conductivity (0.0321–0.0384 W m−1 K−1). Moreover, excellent compressibility and bending flexibility, together with superhydrophobicity (a contact angle was 162°) were achieved. This work provides an attractive strategy to synthesize highly flexible monolithic PMSAs as promising materials for thermal insulation applications.

中文翻译：

---

低密度、低热导率和超疏水性的​​高柔韧性聚甲基倍半硅氧烷气凝胶整料的简便合成

摘要 在目前的工作中，提出了一种以甲基三甲氧基硅烷（MTMS）和二甲基二甲氧基硅烷（DMDMS）为共前体，氨为碱催化剂合成高柔性聚甲基倍半硅氧烷气凝胶（PMSA）整料的简便方法。溶胶-凝胶过程可在 15 分钟内完成，凝胶直接通过常压干燥得到整体 PMSA。PMSA 具有低密度（低至 0.087 g cm-3）、高孔隙率（90.6-94.5%）、大孔结构和低热导率（0.0321-0.0384 W m-1 K-1）。此外，还实现了优异的压缩性和弯曲柔韧性，以及超疏水性（接触角为 162°）。这项工作提供了一种有吸引力的策略来合成高度灵活的整体 PMSA 作为隔热应用的有前途的材料。