SBIR Phase II: Synthesis and Processing of High Performance Polymer Nanocomposite Foams

SBIR第二期：高性能聚合物纳米复合泡沫的合成与加工

• 批准号: 0620502
• 负责人: Yong Min
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Nanomaterial Innovation Ltd.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-01 至 2011-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0620502&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Synthesis; Processing

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and scale-up a newgroup of light-weight, high-strength and fire-resistant polymeric foams by using innovativenanotechnology. The project explores the synthesis of nanocomposites using both plate-like and fiber-like nanoparticles with high carbon dioxide (CO2) affinity. Polymer blends including a minor phase with high CO2 solubility are used as the matrix material. To improve fire-resistance, surfactant-free and water-expandable polymer/clay nanocomposites are also prepared by suspension polymerization of inverse emulsion. Since low molecular weight surfactants are not needed, there is no fire hazard problem. These polymer blend nanocomposites are then used to produce high performance foam products aimed at both insulation and structural applications. The presence of nanoparticles in polymer blends allows better control of cell morphology and foam density in the manufacturing processes. Ultra-low-density foams with thermal insulation properties better than the existing insulation materials and high-density microcellular foams with mechanical properties close to those of solid polymers are achieved. The materials and processing conditions will be optimized to obtain better foamability and mechanical properties of these novel nanocomposites foams.Commercially, nanocomposite reinforced foams have the potential in structural applications to replace solid polymers. The U.S. market for polymer foams was more than 7.4 billion pounds in 2001. Currently, their applications are limited by poor mechanical strength, surface quality, thermal stability and fire retardance. Furthermore, traditional chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) blowing agents cause ozone depletion and will be banned by 2010. As environmentally benign blowing agent CO2 is used to replace CFCs, the success of this project will be extremely valuable for environmental protection. A successful implementation of this novel technology can lead to significant impact on energy saving, material saving, and environmental protection that are critical to our nation's economy and societal health.

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将利用创新的技术开发和扩大一组新的轻质、高强度和耐火聚合物泡沫。该项目探索了使用具有高二氧化碳亲和力的板状和纤维状纳米颗粒来合成纳米复合材料。使用含有高CO2溶解度的次相的聚合物共混物作为基质材料。为提高阻燃性能，还采用反相乳液悬浮聚合法制备了无表面活性剂、可水膨胀的聚合物/粘土纳米复合材料。由于不需要低分子表面活性剂，因此不存在火灾危险问题。然后，这些聚合物共混纳米复合材料被用于生产高性能泡沫产品，目标是绝缘和结构应用。聚合物共混物中纳米粒子的存在可以更好地控制制造过程中的泡孔形态和泡沫密度。获得了隔热性能优于现有绝缘材料的超低密度泡沫和力学性能接近固体聚合物的高密度微孔泡沫。材料和工艺条件将被优化，以获得更好的发泡性和力学性能。在商业上，纳米复合增强泡沫在结构应用方面具有取代固体聚合物的潜力。2001年，美国的聚合物泡沫市场超过74亿磅。目前，它们的应用受到机械强度、表面质量、热稳定性和阻燃性较差的限制。此外，传统的氯氟烃发泡剂会造成臭氧消耗，并将在2010年前被禁止。由于使用环境友好的发泡剂二氧化碳来替代氯氟烃，该项目的成功将对环境保护具有极其重要的价值。这项新技术的成功实施可以对节能、节材和环境保护产生重大影响，这些都对我们国家的经济和社会健康至关重要。