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Mechanical and thermal properties of porous polyimide monoliths crosslinked with aromatic and aliphatic triamines

  • Invited Paper: Nano- and macroporous materials (aerogels, xerogels, cryogels, etc.)
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Abstract

Thermal insulating materials are of importance for efficient and effective use of heat energy. Porous organic foams are widely employed for this purpose owing to their low thermal conductivity and mass productivity at low cost. However, the poor thermal stability of organic polymers limits their availability within a low temperature range (typically, < 150 °C). In this paper, we demonstrate the one-pot sol–gel synthesis of porous poly(amic acid) (PAA) xerogels and their conversion to porous polyimide (PI) monoliths by thermal imidization. The PAA networks crosslinked with either aromatic or aliphatic triamine and the bicontinuous porous morphology tailored via spinodal decomposition allow the evaporative drying at ambient pressure to obtain low-density PAA xerogels without significant shrinkage. The aromatic crosslinker yields the porous PI monoliths with higher porosity and flexible feature as compared with those prepared with the aliphatic triamine. On the other hand, the porous PI monolith based on the aliphatic crosslinker possesses slightly higher thermal stability owing to the stiffer mechanical property. The durability test results verify the porous PI thermal insulators are available in air at up to ~450 °C for a short period and up to ~350 °C for a long term.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

  • Porous poly(amic acid) xerogels with bicontinuous morphology are fabricated via the phase separation method.

  • Crosslinked polymer networks are synthesized by using either aromatic or aliphatic triamine crosslinker.

  • Porous polyimide monoliths prepared with the aromatic crosslinker show the lower shrinkage during thermal imidization.

  • The polyimide network crosslinked with the aliphatic triamine exhibits the higher thermal stability against shrinkage.

  • The long-term durability test reveals the availability of the polyimide thermal insulators at up to 350 °C in air.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Asahi Glass Foundation. Financial supports from Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) FOREST Program (Grant Number JPMJFR2021, Japan) is also acknowledged.

Author contributions

MI and YS contributed equally to the sample preparation and the data collection. HA, KH and KK took part in discussion on the data analyses. GH designed the study, collected the data and wrote the first draft of this manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan

    Mitsuhiro Ishida, Kazuki Nakanishi & George Hasegawa

  2. Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan

    Yutaro Sashiyama, Hirofumi Akamatsu & Katsuro Hayashi

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  1. Mitsuhiro Ishida
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  2. Yutaro Sashiyama
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  3. Hirofumi Akamatsu
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  4. Katsuro Hayashi
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  5. Kazuki Nakanishi
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  6. George Hasegawa
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Correspondence to George Hasegawa.

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Ishida, M., Sashiyama, Y., Akamatsu, H. et al. Mechanical and thermal properties of porous polyimide monoliths crosslinked with aromatic and aliphatic triamines. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 104, 526–535 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05843-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05843-8

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