Heat-insulating properties of hollow Al2O3–ZrO2(CeO2)fibers fabricated using pampas grass as the template

Abstract Al2O3–ZrO2(CeO2) ceramic fibers have good heat insulation and high-temperature resistance. Pampas grass is a large perennial grass, or a natural fiber, with a hollow structure that can improve the heat insulation of the fiber by changing its heat transfer mode. This study introduces a method for the preparation of biomorphic Al2O3–ZrO2(CeO2) fibers with a hollow structure and a double-layer-tube structure using the pampas grass as thetemplate. Hollow ceramic fibers with good thermal insulation properties were prepared by soaking the pampas grass in ZrOCl2, Ce(NO3)3, and AlCl3 solutions before sintering them at high temperatures. When the zirconia doping ratio was 11 mol%, the biomorphic fiber with a double-layer-tube structure was prepared. The biomorphic fibers inherited the hollow structure of the pampas grass and retained the template fiber'scharacteristics of excellent continuity and a high degree of hollowness, whichdecreased the thermal conductivity of the fibers.