@article {50151,
	title = {Eco-friendly gradient porous poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/natural fiber aerogels for highly efficient thermo-acoustic insulation},
	journal = {ACS Applied Polymer Materials},
	volume = {8},
	year = {2026},
	month = {JUN },
	pages = {8629-8643},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	The urgent demand for lightweight thermo-acoustic insulation (TAI) materials in transportation and building infrastructure is constrained by difficulties in synthesis and environmental concerns about nondegradable materials. In this study, a strategy is proposed to create gradient porous, biodegradable, fibrillar aerogels via layer-by-layer casting with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), banana fibers (BF), and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), followed by unidirectional freezing and freeze-drying. These gradient porous aerogels possess a hierarchical porous structure, ensuring excellent hydrophobicity, mechanical strength, and thermal dimensional stability, and exhibit excellent acoustic insulation performance due to impedance mismatch and pore-neck resonance effects, achieving a noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of 0.60. The gradient-structure-based aerogels also exhibit better thermal insulation performance, with ultralow thermal conductivities as low as 0.03 W/(m \&amp; centerdot;K). The flame-retardant properties are significantly enhanced by incorporating Al(OH)3 via a solvent-exchange method, thereby achieving a limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 29.3\%. The lightweight, gradient-structure-based, biodegradable aerogels possess excellent thermo-acoustic insulation and flame-retardant properties, thereby offering great promise as sustainable insulation materials for next-generation building infrastructure.</p>
},
	keywords = {acousticinsulation, aerogels, biodegradable, flame retardancy, Hydrophobic, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), Thermal insulation},
	issn = {2637-6105},
	doi = {10.1021/acsapm.6c01151},
	author = {Akhila, N. S. and Shrishti, S. K. and Suresh, Sruthi and Torris, Arun and Gowd, E. Bhoje}
}
