Abstract

Elastomer foams have been widely used in many applications and have shown potential in some advanced fields because of their excellent flexibility. Elastomers foamed with a physical blowing agent solve the problems of traditional chemical foaming, endow elastomer foams with advantages of environmental-friendly features, uniform cell structure, adjustable material properties, and high processing efficiency. However, unlike foaming of thermoplastic materials, low matrix modulus and high gas diffusivity leads to serious foam post-foaming shrinkage and hinders the preparation of low density elastomer foams. In the past two decades, researchers have selected different elastomer systems and applied various foaming methods and strategies to prepare elastomer foams with improved performance through understanding the foaming mechanisms. This article reviews these investigations and discusses the developments made so far in physical foaming of elastomers.

摘要

弹性体泡沫塑料因其优异的柔韧性已被广泛应用于许多领域，并在一些先进领域显示出潜力。采用物理发泡剂发泡的弹性体解决了传统化学发泡的问题，赋予弹性体泡沫环保、泡孔结构均匀、材料性能可调、加工效率高等优点。然而，与热塑性材料的发泡不同，低基体模量和高气体扩散率导致泡沫后发泡严重，阻碍了低密度弹性体泡沫的制备。在过去的二十年中，研究人员选择了不同的弹性体体系，并应用了各种发泡方法和策略，通过了解发泡机理来制备性能得到改善的弹性体泡沫。