Microstructure, Thermal Conductivity, and Flame Retardancy of Konjac Glucomannan Based Aerogels

With abundant renewable resources and good biodegradability, bio-based aerogels are considered as promising insulating materials for replacing the conventional petroleum-based foam. In this study, konjac glucomannan (KGM)-based aerogels were prepared as thermal insulation materials via a convenient sol–gel and freeze-drying progress with different content of plant polysaccharides, proteins, and wheat straw. The morphology, thermal conductivity, and flame retardancy of KGM-based aerogels were determined. The KGM-based aerogels showed a uniform three-dimensional porous microstructure. The addition of wheat straw could significantly reduce the pore size of aerogels due to its special multi-cavity structure. KGM-based aerogels showed low densities (0.0234–0.0559 g/cm(−3)), low thermal conductivities (0.04573–0.05127 W/mK), low peak heat release rate (PHRR, 46.7–165.5 W/g), and low total heat release (THR, 5.7–16.2 kJ/g). Compared to the conventional expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polyurethane (PU) foam, the maximum limiting oxygen index (LOI) of KGM-based aerogels increased by 24.09% and 47.59%, the lowest PHRR decreased by 79.37% and 94.26%, and the lowest THR decreased by 76.54% and 89.25%, respectively. The results demonstrated that the KGM-based aerogels had better performance on flame retardancy than PU and EPS, indicating high potential applications as heat insulation in the green advanced engineering field.