Hangzhou, China, December 12, 2025- The team of Gao Chao, a professor of the Department of Polymer Science of Zhejiang University, recently announced that it has successfully developed a new aerogel material - "vinyl ceramic", which can maintain structural stability and have excellent elastic recovery properties under an extremely high temperature environment of 2000 ℃. This breakthrough achievement not only opens up a new path for thermal protection technology in extreme environments, but also has the potential to promote material innovation in fields such as aerospace exploration and nuclear energy development.


Breakthrough technology: Two dimensional channel restricted foaming method based on graphene oxide
Although traditional aerogels have super thermal insulation properties due to their nano porous structures, their applications are limited by their short plates, which are brittle and brittle at high temperature. The Zhejiang University team innovatively adopts the "two-dimensional channel restricted foaming method based on graphene oxide", and combines ceramics with graphene through two-dimensional hybridization technology at the atomic level to construct a micro scale dome shaped porous structure. This unique design enables the "olefin ceramic" aerogel to show excellent mechanical elasticity in a wide temperature range: experiments show that the material can still maintain 99% elastic strain in an ultrahigh temperature environment from -268.8 ℃ cryogenic to 2000 ℃, and can withstand 20000 times of 270 kg pressure repeated extrusion without deformation.


Application prospects: From space exploration to firefighting and rescue
The high temperature resistance and elastic properties of "Celadon" make it an ideal material for extreme environmental thermal protection. For example, in the aerospace field, this material can be used to create a thermal protection layer for detectors, making them closer to the sun for observation; In the field of firefighting, its lightweight and thermal insulation performance can be applied to new fire-resistant clothing, significantly improving the safety of rescue personnel. In addition, the team is exploring the use of it in deep Earth exploration equipment to provide technical support for geological research.


Industry influence: promote aerogel from "noble material" to popularization
Previously, aerogel was regarded as a "niche high-end" material due to its high preparation cost and complex process. The Zhejiang University team has reduced costs to one tenth of traditional methods through innovative processes, laying the foundation for large-scale applications. Experts pointed out that with the maturity of low-cost preparation technology, aerogel is expected to accelerate its penetration in industrial insulation, building energy conservation, new energy vehicle battery protection and other fields, forming a market space of 100 billion yuan.