Biomimetic, hierarchical-ordered cellulose nanoclaw hybrid aerogel with high strength and thermal insulation

High-performance thermally insulating nanocellulose-based aerogels with robust mechanical properties is highly desirable for energy-saving and thermal protection applications. However, the large-scale applications of traditional nanocellulose aerogels are still limited by their brittleness nature and rigorous processes. Herein, an effective biomimetic hybrid strategy for high strength and thermal insulated nanocellulose-based aerogel with hierarchical-ordered microstructure is designed and fabricated. The novel cellulose nanoclaws-based aerogels extracted from corncob are hybridized by nanosized silica aerogel layer in situ and have an intensified H-bonding crosslinked network after ambient-drying and hotpress treatment, endowing excellent mechanical properties (16–58 MPa) as well as scalable potential for structure materials. Benefitting from the synergistic effect of the tailored hierarchical-ordered microstructure, the resulting hybrid aerogels also possess high specific surface area (30–630 m2 g−1), low thermal conductivity (0.021 W m−1 K−1), and outstanding flame retardant. This hybrid strategy provides an avenue to produce thermal-insulated and mechanically robust materials.