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Building on previous formulation screening, this study investigates alginate-expanded perlite xerogel foams modified with chitosan and glycerol for thermal insulation applications. Foams were prepared via in situ CO2 foaming and Ca2+ crosslinking, followed by mild oven drying. The effects of expanded perlite (9\u201312%), glycerol (0\u201310%), and chitosan (0\u20131%) were systematically investigated. All formulations exhibited low thermal conductivity (0.0467\u20130.0525 W m\u22121 K\u22121) and UL-94 V-0 self-extinguishing behavior. Incorporation of dispersed chitosan significantly enhanced compressive strength, reaching 263 kPa at 10% strain, within the range of commercial polymer foams. Image analysis and SEM showed that chitosan suppressed bubble coalescence, reduced large-pore fractions, and improved particle coverage, yielding structurally coherent matrices. Glycerol primarily acted as a plasticizer, improving the dimensional stability, but contributing less to pore refinement. The developed foams combine competitive thermal insulation performance, self-extinguishing behavior, and mechanical properties suitable for self-supporting insulation applications through a simple, water-based manufacturing route, highlighting their potential as sustainable alternatives to conventional fossil-based insulation materials for building applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels12070625","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T08:53:58Z","timestamp":1783932838000},"page":"625","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Self-Extinguishing Alginate-Based Xerogel Foams for Thermal Insulation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Radmila","family":"Damjanovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Applied Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1872-195X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marija M.","family":"Vuksanovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VIN\u010cA Institute of Nuclear Sciences\u2014National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, 11351 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8682-2026","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milena","family":"Stavri\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Architecture and Media, Faculty of Architecture, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8076-0012","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jovana","family":"Ru\u017ei\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VIN\u010cA Institute of Nuclear Sciences\u2014National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, 11351 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7399-3945","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irena","family":"\u017divkovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Applied Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9229-3741","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Radmila Jan\u010di\u0107","family":"Heinemann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1989","DOI":"10.1002\/bbb.2291","article-title":"Tree Bark Utilization in Insulating Bio-aggregates: A Review","volume":"15","author":"Giannotas","year":"2021","journal-title":"Biofuels Bioprod. 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