Professors Zheng Yuansheng and Xu Yuanqiang from Professor Xin Binjie's research group at the School of Textiles and Fashion have, focusing on the demands of high-temperature industrial flue gas purification, lightweight thermal insulation, and personal protection in extreme environments, constructed novel micro/nanofiber materials with combined high-efficiency filtration, low air resistance, high-temperature resistance, and thermal insulation performance through fiber morphology regulation and multi-scale structural design. The related results have been successively published in international journals such as the Journal of Membrane Science, Separation and Purification Technology, Chemical Engineering Journal, and Journal of Hazardous Materials.
To address the problem that traditional high-temperature filtration materials find it difficult to simultaneously achieve filtration efficiency, air resistance, and thermal stability, the team adopted electrospinning technology to combine polysulfonamide, polyacrylonitrile, and silica nanoparticles, and constructed high-temperature-resistant nanofiber membranes with a hierarchical gradient structure and bimodal fiber diameter distribution through in-situ crosslinking and interface reinforcement strategies. The material achieved a filtration efficiency of 99.98% for PM0.3 particles, with a pressure drop of only 65 Pa; after treatment at 250°C for 12 h, the filtration performance still remained good. CFD simulation further revealed the regulation mechanism of the gradient structure on airflow distribution and particle capture behavior. The related results were published under the title Thermally stable multilevel nanofiber membranes with gradient architecture for high-temperature air filtration in the Journal of Membrane Science, with Hou Chenyang as the first author.
On this basis, the team further expanded the research from two-dimensional fiber membranes to three-dimensional fiber networks. By regulating the electrospinning environmental humidity and spinning time, the team directly prepared a three-dimensional porous fiber sponge formed by entangled curled nanofibers. The optimized material had a filtration efficiency of more than 98% for PM0.3 particles, with a pressure drop of less than 60 Pa, and still maintained stable performance under high airflow velocity and multiple cycle tests. At the same time, its abundant pore structure and ultra-low bulk density could effectively suppress solid heat conduction, gas heat conduction, thermal convection, and thermal radiation. In simulated skin tests, the thermal insulation effect of the material was better than that of wool, polyester fiber, and down, and could increase skin temperature by 1-5°C, providing a material basis for new masks and personal protective equipment with both respiratory protection and thermal insulation functions in cold environments. This result was published under the title 3D nanofibrous sponge with curly fibers via electrospinning for thermally insulating air filter in Separation and Purification Technology, with Zhu Beijie and Shao Jiawen as co-first authors.
Oriented toward lightweight wearable thermal insulation needs, the team also proposed a preparation strategy combining humidity-assisted electrospinning with oxidative stabilization, and developed a three-dimensional fiber sponge with a multi-layer arch structure. The material had a bulk density of about 7 mg/cm³, a porosity of about 99.3%, and a minimum thermal conductivity of 0.019 W/(m·K). The material could still maintain good morphology and resilience after 200 compression cycles, achieving the unification of ultra-light weight, high porosity, low thermal conductivity, and mechanical stability. Simulated skin experiments and three-dimensional heat transfer simulations showed that its excellent thermal insulation performance mainly originated from the effective storage of still air by the curled fiber network, the tortuous heat transfer path formed by the multi-layer arch structure, and the blocking of heat flow by numerous solid-gas interfaces. The related results were published under the title 3D-arched fibrous sponge for high-performance thermal insulation in Chemical Engineering Journal, with Wang Fengying as the first author.
In the latest research, the team constructed a three-dimensional fiber aerogel with a bimodal structure composed of polysulfonamide fine fibers and high-temperature-resistant composite coarse fibers, achieving the integration of high-temperature particulate matter filtration and thermal insulation protection functions. The aerogel had a porosity of 98.02%, a filtration efficiency of 98.50% for PM0.3 particles, and a pressure drop of 84 Pa; after treatment at 250°C for 12 h, it still maintained high filtration efficiency. The material also exhibited good acid and alkali corrosion resistance, oily aerosol filtration, and flame-retardant thermal insulation performance, and could adapt to complex industrial flue gas environments where high temperature, high humidity, and corrosive media coexist. This result was published under the title 3D bimodal-structured polysulfonamide fibrous aerogel with integrated high-temperature PMs filtration and thermal insulation properties in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, with Hou Chenyang as the first author.
The series of studies has formed a relatively complete technical chain around fiber morphology regulation—multi-scale structure construction—analysis of filtration and heat transfer mechanisms—performance verification in complex environments, promoting the development of electrospun fiber materials from single filtration or thermal insulation functions toward the integrated development of multiple functions such as high-temperature filtration, thermal insulation protection, and environmental adaptability, and providing new ideas for high-temperature flue gas treatment in metallurgy, chemical engineering, and other industries, as well as the development of personal protective materials for extreme environments.
Source: https://cfd.sues.edu.cn/94/2a/c11394a300074/page.htm
