Fecha de publicación: -- Fuente: Journal of applied polymer Lugar: RESEARCH ARTICLE Epoxy modification creates a reinforced EDA@PDMS network through ring-opening and hydrosilylation reactions. Silicon dioxide and carbon fibers reinforcement further enhance ablation resistance, reducing both linear and mass ablation rates. At high temperatures, a dense char layer forms, effectively suppressing heat transfer, oxidation, and material erosion, thereby providing reliable thermal protection performance.

ABSTRACT
This work develops a series of flexible thermal ablation-resistant epoxy-modified polydimethylsiloxane (EDA@PDMS) composites with integrated mechanical and thermal protection performance through multiscale design strategy. EDA@PDMS was prepared by epoxy ring-opening and hydrosilylation reactions. Then, 10 phr silicon dioxide and 6 phr carbon fibers were added to simultaneously enhance the mechanical strength and ablation resistance of EDA@PDMS-c. Results showed that the tensile strength of EDA@PDMS-c reached 2.31 MPa, which is 41.7% higher than that of PDMS-c. Under 4 MW/m2 for 30 s, the linear ablation rate (LAR) and mass ablation rate (MAR) of EDA@PDMS-c reached 0.0515 mm/s and 0.0357 g/s, which were 32.1% and 18.5% lower than those of PDMS-c, respectively. Additionally, a peak back-face temperature of 89.4°C was monitored during the ablation process, indicating excellent thermal insulation performance. The above improvement was ascribed to the combined effects of the intrigue molecular structure design through CSi synergistic mechanism and reinforcing fillers. The research proposed a strategy for fabricating high-performance flexible ablation composites that can be potentially used for thermal protection purposes in the areas of fire protection and aerospace among others.