A foamed, opacifying element has a substrate with opposing planar surfaces and a foamed opacifying layer disposed on one opposing surface. The foamed opacifying layer contains (a) 0.1-80 weight % of nonporous polymeric particles; (b) 10-80 weight % of a matrix material derived from a (b) binder material having a glass transition temperature of less than 40 C.; (c) 0.0001-50 weight % of certain additives; (d) less than 5 weight % of water; and (e) at least 0.002 weight % of an opacifying colorant different from all of the (c) additives. Foamable and foamed aqueous compositions can be used to provide these foamed, opacifying elements for use as light-blocking window shades, curtains, or other materials. These light-blocking articles can also have a printable outer surface that accepts ink for making printed images that are not observable from the opposite surface.

Disclosed are a sound absorbing fabric with improved thermal insulation, and a method of manufacturing the same, wherein an inorganic aerogel powder and a thermosetting binder resin are impregnated into a non-woven fabric made of a heat-resistant fiber, wherein the inorganic aerogel powder has a surface modified by a surfactant to be uniformly mixed with and dispersed in a binder resin, thereby forming the sufficient number of micro cavities inside the non-woven fabric and increasing dispersibility of the inorganic aerogel powder, and thus heat resistance, sound absorbing and sound insulating properties, and thermal insulation properties can be significantly improved.

The present invention relates to a reinforced composite material, comprising an organic polymer, a silicon polymer, and an interphase between said organic polymer and said silicon polymer, wherein said interphase comprises chemical bonds between the organic polymer and the silicon polymer, and to a method to obtain said reinforced composite material. The present disclosure can be used to improve the mechanical properties of silica aerogels by functionalization of textile materials.

Provided is a composite thermal insulation sheet including an aerogel and a method for manufacturing method the same. The methods yield an ultra-thin aerogel composite sheet having characteristics of low dust, high strength and high thermal insulation, thereby having an increased applicability thereof to an electronic device.

Described are flame resistant composite articles and methods for making and using. A flame resistant composite article is described comprising a facial layer, a meltable layer, a heat reactive material, and an inner layer that provide lightweight flame resistance and can accommodate printing and a large number of appearance options.

A composite textile is provided. The composite textile includes a textile substrate and a thermal material layer formed on the textile substrate. The thermal material layer includes a nanocomposite powder. The nanocomposite powder is composed of a pyrrolidone-containing polymer and an inorganic particle. The pyrrolidone-containing polymer is polyvinylpyrrolidone, a derivative of polyvinylpyrrolidone or a combination thereof. The inorganic particle is a metal oxide composed of a first metal M.sup.A, a doping metal M.sup.B and oxygen. The inorganic particle makes up 62.5-99.9 wt. % of the nanocomposite powder.

Process for the simple and practical application of a relatively thick heat-insulating layer to a surface to be insulated by: (a) applying a porous substrate consisting of a spacer fabric to the surface of an article, which surface is to be insulated; (b) filling the porous substrate with a heat-insulating formulation; (c) curing the formulation filled into the porous substrate.

An embodiment of a robotic fabric has a first fabric layer and an actuator that is configured to have a first state and a second state. A property of the first fabric layer is different when the actuator is in the first state as compared to the property of the first fabric layer when the actuator is in the second state.

A foamed, opacifying element has a substrate with opposing planar surfaces and a foamed opacifying layer disposed on one opposing surface. The foamed opacifying layer contains (a) 0.1-80 weight % of nonporous polymeric particles; (b) 10-80 weight % of a matrix material derived from a (b) binder material having a glass transition temperature of less than 40? C.; (c) 0.0001-50 weight % of certain additives; (d) less than 5 weight % of water; and (e) at least 0.002 weight % of an opacifying colorant different from all of the (c) additives. Foamable and foamed aqueous compositions can be used to provide these foamed, opacifying elements for use as light-blocking window shades, curtains, or other materials. These light-blocking articles can also have a printable outer surface that accepts ink for making printed images that are not observable from the opposite surface.

Waste such as sawdust, waste paper, a shell of an oyster or the like, fallen leaves, old clothing fabric, and waste fishing nets as well as a wood construction waste material or a material from logging are effectively used, and burdens on the natural environment, which have been caused by the disposal of waste by incineration and the disposal by landfill, is reduced. A heat insulating material includes: a paint that contains, as components, a resin and powdered calcium composed of a fired ground product of scallop shells; and a core to be mixed with the paint.