The reporter learned from the University of Science and Technology of China that the research team of Professor Yu Shuhong from the Department of Chemistry of the school modeled the hollow structure of a single polar bear hair and extended it to a block material composed of many hairs. The research results were published on June 6th in the journal "Chemistry" of the Cell Publishing House.

“The polar bear's hair has evolved to make it warm in cold and humid environments, making it an ideal model for synthetic insulation. By assembling synthetic carbon tube fibers, we can design a flexible Lightweight material, this material will not age significantly during the life of the product, and can absorb heat." Yu Shuhong said.

Unlike human or other mammalian hair, the polar bear's hair is hollow, and each hair has a hollow structure. The shape and spacing of these cavities form their unique white outer shell. In fact, the polar bear's hair is transparent, and the light is internally reflected, causing it to glow and appear white. At the same time, it also gives them significant insulation and hydrophobicity, suitable for artificial insulation materials to follow.

“The hollow core limits thermal convection, and the hollow structure also makes a single hair lighter, which is one of the most prominent advantages in materials science,” said Liu Jianwei, an associate professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, who simulated millions of hollows. Carbon tubes, each of which is equivalent to a polar bear's hair, and is wrapped around a macaroni-like aerogel.

Researchers have found that hollow tubes inspired by polar bear hair are light, heat-insulating and almost immune to water – a way to keep polar bears warm while swimming and to keep them insulated in wet conditions. Sexual convenience features. Another benefit is that this new material is superelastic compared to the polar bear's hair, which further enhances its engineering applicability.

Researchers focus on the relevant industrial uses of this material, and the next step is to expand the current production of such insulation from the centimeter scale to the meter scale. And explore its application in extreme conditions such as aerospace.