Work

Shape Memory Polymer Foam Based on Nanofibrillar Composites of Polylactide/Polyamide

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper presents the novel development of a shape memory polymer foam based on polymer-polymer nanocomposites. Herein, polylactide (PLA)/biosourced polyamide (PA) foams are fabricated by in-situ fibrillation of polymer blends and subsequent supercritical CO2 foaming technique. In this system, PLA serves as a shape memory polymer to endow this foam with a shape memory effect (SME), and in-situ generated PA nanofibers are employed to reinforce the PLA cell walls and provide an additional permanent phase. Concentration of PA, 5 wt.%, is chosen to form an entangled nanofibrillar network. Foams of PLA/PA nanoblends with the same content of constituents are fabricated to reveal the effect of minor phase morphology on the cell structure and shape memory behavior of polymer foams. Profiting from the reinforcing effect of PA nanofibers, the PLA/PA nanocomposite foam exhibits smaller foam cells, a narrower cell size distribution and a comparable cell concentration than the PLA/PA nanoblend foam. In addition, PA nanofibers, unlike PA nanodroplets, favor the shape fixation ratio and recovery ratio and shorten the shape recovery time.

Source: Molecules

DOI: 10.3390/molecules29215045

Authors: Dhanumalayan Elumalai, Ramin Hosseinnezhad, Vladislav Bondarenko, Jerzy Morawiec, Iurii Vozniak, Andrzej Galeski

Institutions: Centrum Badań Molekularnych i Makromolekularnych Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University

Language: English

Topic: Polymer Foaming and Composites

Subfield: Polymers and Plastics

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,069

Funders: Narodowe Centrum Nauki, Centrum Badań Molekularnych i Makromolekularnych Polskiej Akademii Nauk