Adaptive Thermoresponsive Graphite Intercalation Compound-Containing Silicone Rubber for Dynamic Thermal Protection under Severe Scouring Conditions

Flexible thermal protection materials with adaptive deformation ability are elementary blocks for thermal protection systems, but their rational design remains a significant challenge. Herein, an intelligent soft architecture that was sensitized by graphite intercalation compound (GIC) was constructed in a highly stretchable silicone rubber. The GIC acted as microscopic thermoresponsive deformation-driven units, and the transformation of the interlayer structure during thermal expansion resulted in adaptive thermal insulation performance, establishing a synergy of large deformation and ablation resistance. Furthermore, the in situ ceramization of boride-intercalated GIC significantly improved the ablation resistance, and the back-face temperature remained below 180 °C under severe scouring and thermal ablation conditions (sample thickness: 10 mm, surface temperature above 1900 °C). This work proposed a facile method to prepare flexible thermal protection materials with large deformability and excellent thermal protection performance via the in situ expansion of thermoresponsive deformation-driven units.