Synthesis of tubular silica fiber via all-aqueous microfluidics for geopolymer regulation

Lightweight hollow ceramic microfibers/microparticles hold promising prospects in numerous applications. To date, it remains a challenge to develop a fabrication strategy that well balances product quality and efficiency. In this article, an all-aqueous microfluidic method was proposed to prepare tubular polymeric fiber as the preceramic template. The relevant dimensional parameters could be promptly regulated via simple flow rate control. This approach could serve as a general technical route to preparing different kinds of ceramics by switching the types of nanoparticles. Here, silica nanoparticles were introduced and the ceramic microfiber could be got via calcination. Afterward, the tubular silica microfiber was employed to synthesize geopolymer composite by mold casting. The chemically formed interfacial bonding between the silica microfiber and geopolymer matrix was confirmed by elemental analysis. The addition of 10% volume fraction silica microfiber could not only increase the flexural modulus of geopolymer composite by 3.5 times but also effectively inhibited crack propagation under thermal circumstances.