Investigation of energy-efficient and ultraviolet-resistant multifunctional composite silica aerogel for sustainable lunar base construction

Constructing a lunar base is strategically vital for deep space exploration, resource development, and future interstellar migration. However, the absence of atmospheric protection exposes the lunar surface to extremely complex thermal management issues and intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation challenges. For the first time, this study presents a multifunctional composite silica aerogel to enhance UV shielding, thermal insulation, and plant photosynthesis for sustainability in lunar base. The doping scheme is based on the numerical simulation combining Mie scattering, discrete dipoles approximation (DDA) and Monte Carlo method. The optimized UV-opacifier TiO₂ has 0.005 % volume fraction and 30 nm particle radius. ITO infrared opacifiers, with volume fraction of 0.05 % and radius of 20 nm, reduce infrared radiative dissipation, thereby enhancing thermal insulation. Ag nanorods with volume fraction of 0.001 %, length-to-diameter ratio of 3.5, and radius of 10 nm, can filter green light, promoting plant photosynthesis and sustainability. Synthesized with a one-step base-catalyzed sol-gel method, this composite aerogel demonstrates 18.4 % improvement in UV resistance compared with traditional transparent aerogels, while maintaining visible light transmittance of 75.2 %. The thermal conductivity is 0.0409 W m^-1 K^-1 at 400 K. Its exceptional thermal insulation properties achieve energy savings up to 87.1 % under extreme temperature fluctuations on the lunar surface. This composite aerogel can provide crucial solution to the sustainable development of lunar bases.