Effect of soft segment molecular weight on the microcellular foaming behavior of TPU using supercritical CO2

Enhancing Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene at Different Environmental Conditions with Outstanding Foamability through In-Situ Rubber Nanofibrillation: Exploring the Impact of Interface Modification

In this study, we utilized in situ nanofibrillation of thermoplastic polyester ether elastomer (TPEE) within a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix to enhance the rheological properties, foamability, and mechanical characteristics of the HDPE nanocomposite at both room and subzero temperatures. Due to the inherent polarity differences between these two components, TPEE is thermodynamically incompatible with the nonpolar HDPE. To address this compatibility issue, we employed a compatibilizer, styrene/ethylene-butylene/styrene copolymer-grafted maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA), to reduce the interfacial tension between the two blend components. In the initial step, we prepared a 10% masterbatch of HDPE/TPEE with and without the compatibilizer using a twin-screw extruder. Subsequently, we processed the 10% masterbatch further through spun bonding to create fiber-in-fiber composites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed a significant reduction in the spherical size of HDPE/TPEE particles following the inclusion of SEBS-g-MA, as well as a much smaller TPEE nanofiber size (approximately 60-70 nm for 5% TPEE). Moreover, extensional rheological testing revealed a notable enhancement in extensional rheological properties, with strain-hardening behavior being more pronounced in the compatibilized nanofibrillar composites compared to the noncompatibilized ones. SEM images of the foam structures depicted substantial improvement in the foamability of HDPE in terms of the cell size and density following the nanofibrillation process and the use of the compatibilizer. Ultimately, the in situ rubber fibrillation and enhancement of HDPE and TPEE interface using a compatibilizer led to increasing the HDPE ductility at room and subzero temperatures while maintaining its stiffness.

The Application of Box-Behnken Design for Investigating the Supercritical CO2 Foaming Process: A Case Study of Thermoplastic Polyurethane 85A

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is a versatile polymer with unique characteristics such as flexibility, rigidity, elasticity, and adjustable properties by controlling its soft and hard segments. To properly design and understand the TPU foaming process through supercritical CO2, a design of experiments approach, the Box-Behnken design (BBD) was adopted using commercial TPU 85A as the model compound. The effect of saturation pressure, saturation temperature, and immersion time on the mean pore size and expansion ratio were investigated. The design space for the production of TPU foam was shown, and the significance of process parameters was confirmed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). In addition, extrapolation foaming experiments were designed and validated the feasibility of the response surface model developed via BBD. It was found that the pore size of TPU 85A foam could be controlled within 13 to 60 μm, and a stable expansion ratio could be designed up to six.

Production and Application of Polymer Foams Employing Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Polymeric foams have characteristics that make them attractive for different applications. However, some foaming methods rely on chemicals that are not environmentally friendly. One of the possibilities to tackle the environmental issue is to utilize supercritical carbon dioxide ScCO2 since it is a “green” solvent, thus facilitating a sustainable method of producing foams. ScCO2 is nontoxic, chemically inert, and soluble in molten plastic. It can act as a plasticizer, decreasing the viscosity of polymers according to temperature and pressure. Most foam processes can benefit from ScCO2 since the methods rely on nucleation, growth, and expansion mechanisms. Process considerations such as pretreatment, temperature, pressure, pressure drop, and diffusion time are relevant parameters for foaming. Other variables such as additives, fillers, and chain extenders also play a role in the foaming process. This review highlights the morphology, performance, and features of the foam produced with ScCO2, considering relevant aspects of replacing or introducing a novel foam. Recent findings related to foaming assisted by ScCO2 and how processing parameters influence the foam product are addressed. In addition, we discuss possible applications where foams have significant benefits. This review shows the recent progress and possibilities of ScCO2 in processing polymer foams.

Construction of Bio-Based Polyurethanes via Olefin Metathesis and Their Thermal Reversible Behavior

With the increase in awareness of environmental protection and the shortage of oil resources, bio-based polyurethane has attracted increasing attention due to its ecological friendliness, low cost and easy degradation. In this paper, using Eugenol (Eug) derived from plant essential oils as the raw resource, syringyl ethanol (Syol) was prepared, and three monomers were obtained by the reaction of the Eug or Syol with Hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)or 4,4′-methylene di (phenyl isocyanate) (MDI), respectively. Then, three novel bio-based polyurethanes, P(Eug-HDI), P(Syol-HDI) and P(Syol-MDI), were synthesized by olefin metathesis polymerization. The effects of the catalyst type, reaction solvent, reaction temperature, reaction time, molar ratio of catalyst dosage and metal salts on the Eug-HDI olefin metathesis polymerization were investigated in detail. Under the optimal conditions, the yield reached 64.7%. It is worth noting that the addition of metal Ni salts could significantly promote the polymerization, in which NiI₂ could increase the yield to 86.6%. Furthermore, the thermal decomposition behaviors of these bio-based polyurethanes were explored by DSC and variable temperature infrared spectroscopy. The test results showed that P(Eug-HDI) had a reversible thermal decomposition and a certain self-healing performance. This paper provided a new method for the preparation of bio-based polyurethane.

Progress in the development of bead foams – A review

For a long time, the number of available bead foam variants limited to standard polymers which restricted their functionality mainly to packaging, thermal insulation (e.g. in construction) and shock absorption (e.g. in transportation). In particular, standard polymers such as expanded polystyrene, expanded polyethylene and expanded polypropylene were used for components requiring good insulating properties and high energy absorption at low cost. Mainly since the last two decades, new polymer variants have found their way into the world of bead foams and are currently adding further functionalities, such as sustainability, flame retardancy, increased thermal stability and enhanced mechanical performance (e.g. improvements in energy absorption and impact resistance). Versatile fields of application open up, revolutionizing both industry and design sectors. This review article emphasizes the special development progress of new bead foam variants and their processing technologies. Upcoming opportunities of digital methods for modelling and simulation are highlighted.

Foam 3D Printing of Thermoplastics: A Symbiosis of Additive Manufacturing and Foaming Technology

Due to their light-weight and cost-effectiveness, cellular thermoplastic foams are considered as important engineering materials. On the other hand, additive manufacturing or 3D printing is one of the emerging and fastest growing manufacturing technologies due to its advantages such as design freedom and tool-less production. Nowadays, 3D printing of polymer compounds is mostly limited to manufacturing of solid parts. In this context, a merged foaming and printing technology can introduce a great alternative for the currently used foam manufacturing technologies such as foam injection molding. This perspective review article tackles the attempts taken toward initiating this novel technology to simultaneously foam and print thermoplastics. After explaining the basics of polymer foaming and additive manufacturing, this article classifies different attempts that have been made toward generating foamed printed structures while highlighting their challenges. These attempts are clustered into 1) architected porous structures, 2) syntactic foaming, 3) post-foaming of printed parts, and eventually 4) printing of blowing agents saturated filaments. Among these, the latest approach is the most practical route although it has not been thoroughly studied yet. A filament free approach that can be introduced as a potential strategy to unlock the difficulties to produce printed foam structures is also proposed.

Analysis of the Foaming Window for Thermoplastic Polyurethane with Different Hard Segment Contents

A series of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) with different amounts of hard segments (HS) (40, 50 and 60 wt.%) are synthesized by a pre-polymer method. These synthesized TPUs are characterized by Shore hardness, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), and rheology. Then, these materials are foamed by a one-step gas dissolution foaming process and the processing window that allows producing homogeneous foams is analyzed. The effect of foaming temperature from 140 to 180 °C on the cellular structure and on density is evaluated, fixing a saturation pressure of 20 MPa and a saturation time of 1 h. Among the TPUs studied, only that with 50 wt.% HS allows obtaining a stable foam, whose better features are reached after foaming at 170 °C. Finally, the foaming of TPU with 50 wt.% HS is optimized by varying the saturation pressure from 10 to 25 MPa at 170 °C. The optimum saturation and foaming conditions are 25 MPa and 170 °C for 1 h, which gives foams with the lowest relative density of 0.74, the smallest average cell size of 4 μm, and the higher cell nucleation density of 8.0 × 109 nuclei/cm³. As a final conclusion of this investigation, the TPU with 50 wt.% HS is the only one that can be foamed under the saturation and foaming conditions used in this study. TPU foams containing 50 wt.% HS with a cell size below 15 microns and porosity of 1.4–18.6% can be obtained using foaming temperatures from 140 to 180 °C, saturation pressure of 20 MPa, and saturation time of 1 h. Varying the saturation pressure from 10 to 25 MPa and fixing the foaming temperature of 170 °C and saturation pressure of 1 h results in TPU foams with a cell size of below 37 microns and porosity of 1.7–21.2%.

Preparation of Microcellular Foams by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: A Case Study of Thermoplastic Polyurethane 70A

In this study, a case study to produce microcellular foam of a commercial thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) through the supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) foaming process is presented. To explore the feasibility of TPU in medical device and biomedical application, a soft TPU with Shore hardness value of 70A was selected as the model compound. The effects of saturation temperature and saturation pressure ranging from 90 to 140 °C and 90 to 110 bar on the expansion ratio, cell size and cell density of the TPU foam were compared and discussed. Regarding the expansion ratio, the effect of saturation temperature was considerable and an intermediate saturation temperature of 100 °C was favorable to produce TPU microcellular foam with a high expansion ratio. On the other hand, the mean pore size and cell density of TPU foam can be efficiently manipulated by adjusting the saturation pressure. A high saturation pressure was beneficial to obtain TPU foam with small mean pore size and high cell density. This case study shows that the expansion ratio of TPU microcellular foam could be designed as high as 4.4. The cell size and cell density could be controlled within 12–40 μm and 5.0 × 107–1.3 × 109 cells/cm3, respectively.

Construction of Mechanically Reinforced Thermoplastic Polyurethane from Carbon Dioxide-Based Poly(ether carbonate) Polyols via Coordination Cross-Linking

Using carbon dioxide-based poly(propylene ether carbonate) diol (PPCD), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), dimethylolbutyric acid (DMBA), ferric chloride (FeCl₃), and ethylene glycol (EG) as the main raw materials, a novel thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is prepared through coordination of FeCl₃ and DMBA to obtain TPU containing coordination enhancement directly. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H NMR, gel permeation chromatography, UV−Vis spectroscopy, tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis were explored to characterize chemical structures and mechanical properties of as-prepared TPU. With the increasing addition of FeCl₃, the tensile strength and modulus of TPU increase. Although the elongation at break decreases, it still maintains a high level. Dynamic mechanical analysis shows that the glass-transition temperature moves to a high temperature gradually along with the increasing addition of FeCl₃. X-ray diffraction results indicate that TPUs reinforced with FeCl₃ or not are amorphous polymers. That FeCl₃ coordinates with DMBA first is an effective strategy of getting TPU, which is effective and convenient in the industry without the separation of intermediate products. This work confirms that such Lewis acids as FeCl₃ can improve and adjust the properties of TPU contenting coordination structures with an in-situ reaction in a low addition amount, which expands their applications in industry and engineering areas.

Insights into the Bead Fusion Mechanism of Expanded Polybutylene Terephthalate (E-PBT)

Expandable polystyrene (EPS) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) dominate the bead foam market. As the low thermal performance of EPS and EPP limits application at elevated temperatures novel solutions such as expanded polybutylene terephthalate (E-PBT) are gaining importance. To produce parts, individual beads are typically molded by hot steam. While molding of EPP is well-understood and related to two distinct melting temperatures, the mechanisms of E-PBT are different. E-PBT shows only one melting peak and can surprisingly only be molded when adding chain extender (CE). This publication therefore aims to understand the impact of thermal properties of E-PBT on its molding behavior. Detailed differential scanning calorimetry was performed on neat and chain extended E-PBT. The crystallinity of the outer layer and center of the bead was similar. Thus, a former hypothesis that a completely amorphous bead layer enables molding, was discarded. However, the incorporation of CE remarkably reduces the crystallization and re-crystallization rate. As a consequence, the time available for interdiffusion of chains across neighboring beads increases and facilitates crystallization across the bead interface. For E-PBT bead foams, it is concluded that sufficient time for polymer interdiffusion during molding is crucial and requires adjusted crystallization kinetics.

Microcellular foaming behavior of ether- and ester-based TPUs blown with supercritical CO2

The bead foaming behavior of ether- and an ester-based Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) resins were investigated in a lab-scale reactor using supercritical CO2 as the blowing agent. The samples were saturated at various saturation temperatures and the effects of hard segment crystallization during the saturation on the foaming behavior of the TPU samples were explored. The results revealed that the different HS crystallization tendencies and possible CO2 solubility differences in two TPU grades led to their different foaming behaviors. The ester-based TPU could be foamed within a wider saturation temperature range and revealed an easier cell growth and foam expansion while the ether-based TPU showed a more limited cell growth behavior and hence processing window. The effect of pre-annealing and hence the isothermally induced HS crystallization on the foaming behavior of the ether-based TPU and the influence of depressurization rate on the foaming behavior of ester-based TPU was also explored.

Increasing heat transfer performance of thermoplastic polyurethane by constructing thermal conduction channels of ultra-thin boron nitride nanosheets and carbon nanotubes

The TPU-based thermally conductive composite reaches a thermal conductivity of 1.35 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ and increases the tensile strength by at least 300%.