Comprehensive studies on the foaming behavior of polypropylene: from microcellular plastics to nanocellular foams

聚丙烯发泡行为的综合研究：从微孔塑料到纳米孔泡沫

• 批准号: 543896-2019
• 负责人: Lee, PatrickChangDong
• 金额: $ 13.32万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=720817
• 关键词: Comprehensive; studies; foaming; behavior; polypropylene

Most commercially available "lightweight" foams are made of commodity plastics, among which polypropylene (PP) is a highly attractive material for foaming as it is inexpensive, easy to process, thermally stable, and mechanically strong. However, the low melt strength of PP presents severe challenges in foaming. Significant advances have been made to enhance the melt strength of PP to produce microcellular foams, but little research has been conducted so far on the foaming under processing conditions that involve a wide range of combinations of nucleating agents and blowing agents. More limited knowledge is available on bubble nucleation in the presence of polymer microstructure (i.e., crystals) during the foaming process. This proposal outlines a comprehensive, systematic study on the foaming behavior of PP-based materials. Unique aspects of the proposed research are: (i) injection of chemical and physical blowing agents as well as their blends to explore the effects of type, loading, and their synergy on foaming; (ii) exploration of various types, sizes, and loadings of mineral nucleating agents and comparison between the performance of mineral and non-mineral type nucleating agents; (iii) visualization of cell nucleation and polymer crystallization during continuous foaming processes to understand the interaction between bubble and crystal nucleation. Canadian plastics product manufacturing industry in 2016 valued at $25.3 billion. Foaming is an effective way to decrease the cost, weight, and environmental impact of plastic products by reducing the amount of raw materials used to make them. Improved fundamental understanding on the foaming process and rigorous studies on various processing conditions thus have tremendous potential to positively impact the rational design of polymeric foaming processes and are expected to provide substantial environmental benefits to Canada. Finally, a good number of highly qualified personnel will be trained during the course of this project. It is greatly anticipated that these trained professionals will eventually bring their proficiency to the Canadian plastic and foam engineering community as well as to academia.

大多数市售的“轻质”泡沫是由商品塑料制成的，其中聚丙烯（PP）是一种非常有吸引力的泡沫材料，因为它便宜，易于加工，热稳定，机械稳定。但是，PP的低熔体强度在泡沫中提出了严重的挑战。已经取得了重大进展来增强PP的熔体强度以产生微细胞泡沫，但迄今为止，在加工条件下对泡沫的研究很少进行，这些泡沫涉及各种成核剂和吹剂的组合。在泡沫过程中聚合物微结构（即晶体）存在下，有关气泡成核的知识有更多的知识。 该建议概述了一项关于基于PP的材料的泡沫行为的全面，系统的研究。拟议的研究的独特方面是：（i）注射化学和物理吹动剂，以及它们的混合物，以探索类型，负载及其协同作用对泡沫的影响； （ii）探索矿物质成核剂的各种类型，大小和负载，以及矿物质和非矿物质型成核剂的性能之间的比较； （iii）在连续的泡沫过程中可视化细胞成核和聚合物结晶，以了解气泡与晶体成核之间的相互作用。 2016年，加拿大塑料制造业的价值为253亿加元。泡沫是减少塑料产品的成本，重量和环境影响的有效方法，通过减少制造它们的原料量。因此，对泡沫过程和对各种处理条件的严格研究的基本了解具有巨大的潜力，可以积极影响聚合物泡沫过程的合理设计，并有望为加拿大提供可观的环境效益。最后，将在该项目的过程中对许多高素质的人员进行培训。众所周知，这些受过训练的专业人员最终将使他们的熟练程度融入加拿大塑料和泡沫工程社区以及学术界。