# Designing Stable Graphitic Networks on Ultra‐Porous Polyimide Aerogels via Solvent‐Guided Structuring

## TL;DR

A new polyimide aerogel is designed to withstand high-temperature laser treatment, enabling the creation of conductive graphene networks for use in flexible electronics and antennas.

## Contribution

A solvent-guided molecular design strategy is introduced to create thermally robust, hierarchically porous polyimide aerogels for stable laser-induced graphitization.

## Key findings

- The engineered aerogel achieves a sheet resistivity as low as 6.5 Ωsq⁻¹ after graphitization.
- The material retains dielectric properties (εr = 1–2, tan δ < 0.2) and thermal insulation (30–35 mW m⁻¹ K⁻¹) after high-temperature treatment.
- Applications in flexible pressure sensors, thermal management layers, and ultralight antennas are demonstrated with performance metrics like −14 dB reflection coefficient and 3.9 dBi peak gain.

## Abstract

Lightweight, highly porous polyimide (PI) aerogels have emerged as promising candidates for advanced electronic applications due to their exceptional thermal stability, mechanical performance, structural integrity, and low dielectric loss. However, the controlled laser‐induced graphitization (LIG) of such ultra‐porous polymeric networks remains a critical challenge, as localized high temperatures often trigger polymer backbone degradation and framework collapse. Herein, a chemically engineered PI aerogel via a molecular design strategy that tailors solvent–polymer interactions during gelation to produce a hierarchically porous yet thermally robust network is reported. This substrate preserves its porosity and integrity during high‐intensity LIG, enabling the formation of a uniform graphene–carbon conductive phase embedded within the polyimide matrix. The resulting material achieves sheet resistivity as low as 6.5 Ωsq−1, while retaining excellent dielectric properties (ɛr = 1–2, tan δ <0.2) and thermal insulation (30–35 mW m−
1 K−
1 post‐300 °C treatment). This synergy between molecular design, thermal response, and electronic functionality enables integration into multifunctional devices, such as flexible pressure sensors, thermal management layers, and ultralight antennas, demonstrated by a reflection coefficient of −14 dB at 5.4 GHz and a peak gain of 3.9 dBi.

A thermally robust, hierarchically porous polyimide aerogel is engineered via solvent‐polymer interaction tuning to enable stable laser‐induced graphitization. The resulting graphene‐integrated structure exhibits low resistivity, excellent dielectric performance, and thermal insulation, supporting applications in flexible electronics, thermal management, and lightweight antennas.