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Microstructure and properties of microcellular silicone rubber foams with improved surface quality

Polymer Journal volume 52, pages 207–216 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Supercritical foaming technology is used for producing foamed silicone rubber (SR) materials because of its many advantages, but this technology has been limited by its propensity to prepare microcellular silicone rubber foams (SRF) with surface defects. In this study, a novel method of preparing microcellular SRF without surface defects was successfully developed by investigating the principle of cellular formation during the process of supercritical foaming. Meanwhile, the microstructure, surface profile, mechanical properties, and thermal conductivity of microcellular SRF were investigated in detail. The results show that the plasticity of the SR matrix plays an important role in cellular formation. The maximum tensile strength of the microcellular SRF achieves 4.77 MPa and the elongation at break is 1866.29%. The thermal conductivity of the microcellular SRF achieves a minimum value of 0.14 W/m K, and the thermal insulation property is improved by approximately 39% compared with the SR composites.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers: 51773186 and 51503189).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, 621900, Mianyang, P. R. China

    Yalan Jia, Bin Xiang, Wenhuan Zhang, Tao Liu & Shikai Luo

  2. Material Science and Engineering College, Southwest University of Science and Technology, 621010, Mianyang, P. R. China

    Yalan Jia

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  1. Yalan Jia
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  2. Bin Xiang
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Correspondence to Tao Liu or Shikai Luo.

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Jia, Y., Xiang, B., Zhang, W. et al. Microstructure and properties of microcellular silicone rubber foams with improved surface quality. Polym J 52, 207–216 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-019-0249-5

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