Scientists from the US and China have created a perovskite thermal insulator with record-low thermal conductivity

The press service of North Carolina State University (USA) reported that American and Chinese materials scientists have created a thermal insulator based on an analogue of the natural mineral perovskite. This was reported by TASS.

According to North Carolina State University (USA) professor Sun Dali, such materials are difficult to create because heat is usually poorly conducted by soft substances, whereas the researchers managed to obtain a solid material that outperforms existing thermal insulators.

The authors of the work used a structure with alternating layers of organic molecules and inorganic materials. In the organic part, they incorporated a set of aromatic hydrocarbon molecules, which made it possible to suppress the vibrations responsible for the transfer of thermal energy and sharply reduce thermal conductivity without a noticeable loss of strength.

As a result, the new perovskite thermal insulator, according to the researchers, conducts heat five times worse than silicone and only 60% better than ordinary air. At the same time, it is about 10,000 times stronger than silicone.

The material can be produced and applied to arbitrary surfaces using existing industrial coating equipment. Films made from it, the researchers say, will be useful in furnaces, refrigeration units, on satellites, and for protecting solar panels and electronics from overheating.

Sources

• TASS