Abstract
The development of high-efficiency thermal insulation materials is crucial for terrestrial and space applications under extreme conditions. Synthetic aerogels, featuring porosities up to 99%, can reach the values of ~10 mW m−1 K−1 under vacuum. However, whether natural materials can achieve this performance remains an open question. Here, we report lunar agglutinates from the Chang’E-5 mission that exhibit thermal conductivities as low as ~8 mW m−1 K−1 under vacuum, surpassing most high-performance aerogel materials — at modest porosities of only 7–30%. Integrated structural characterizations and atomic-to-mesoscale simulations demonstrate that the space-weathering-forged multiscale voids and multiphase interfaces collaboratively suppress phonon transport within agglutinate particles, leading to their ultra-low thermal conductivities. These natural structures demonstrate a non-porosity-dominated thermal insulation mechanism. The findings redefine the microstructural design principles for super-insulating materials and provide a particle-scale explanation for the ultralow thermal conductivity of lunar regolith.
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All data supporting the findings of this study can be found in the article and its Supplementary Information. More detailed primary experimental data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank all the staff of the Chang’e lunar exploration project for their hard work, and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for providing access to the Lunar samples CE5C0400. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 52425601, 42441804, 52327809) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant nos. 2021YFA0717200, 2023YFB4404100).
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G.Z. and H.W. initiated and supervised the study. Z.T., J.Z., G.Z., and H.W. designed the overall experimental approach. Y.L. and P.Z. supervised the morphological and mineralogical characterization. Z.T., R.P., Q.Z., X.L., Yiwei Liu, S.Y., and G.L. conducted morphological and mineralogical measurements. G.Z. and P.Z. designed the 3D reconstruction methods for lunar particles. Z.T., Q.Z., X.L., Yiwei Liu, G.Z., and P.Z. conducted the 3D reconstruction. H.W. and B.C. supervised the thermal conductivity measurement of lunar particles. H.W., J.Z., and B.C. designed and fabricated the H-type device. H.W., J.Z., and B.C. completed the transfer of single particle samples with help from G.Z., Y.L., and J.L. J.Z., H.W., and B.C. measured the thermal conductivities of the samples and analyzed the experimental data. Y.L. performed the nanoscale mineral interface characterization within individual particles. B.C. supervised the MD calculation. Y.C., J.Z., H.W., and B.C. conducted the MD calculations. G.Z. supervised the FDM calculation. G.Z., Z.T., J.Z., and H.W. conducted the FDM calculations. P.Z. provisioned the calculation and computing resources. Y.L., J.L., and Z.O. contributed to the mineralogy and space weathering discussions. Y.L., J.L., and Z.O. provided background information on the samples. G.Z., H.W., B.C., and P.Z. supplied the commercial support. Z.T. and J.Z. wrote the manuscript. Z.T., J.Z., H.W., G.Z., and Y.L. revised the manuscript with contributions from all authors. G.Z. served as the primary corresponding author of this work and was responsible for editorial communication.
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Tian, Z., Zheng, J., Wang, H. et al. A space-forged super-thermal insulating material—lunar agglutinates. Commun Mater (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-026-01126-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-026-01126-9
