Batch foaming of SAN/clay nanocomposites with scCO2: A very tunable way of controlling the cellular morphology

This paper aims at elucidating some important parameters affecting the cellular morphology of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN)/clay nanocomposite foams prepared with the supercritical CO2 technology. Prior to foaming experiments, the SAN/CO2 system has first been studied. The effect of nanoclay on CO2 sorption/desorption rate into/from SAN is assessed with a gravimetric method. Ideal saturation conditions are then deduced in view of the foaming process. Nanocomposites foaming has first been performed with the one-step foaming process, also called depressurization foaming. Foams with different cellular morphology have been obtained depending on nanoclay dispersion level and foaming conditions. While foaming at low temperature (40 °C) leads to foams with the highest cell density (∼1012–1014 cells/cm3), the foam expansion is restricted (d∼0.7–0.8 g/cm3). This drawback has been overcome with the use of the two-step foaming process, also called solid-state foaming, where foam expansion occurs during sample dipping in a hot oil bath (d∼0.1–0.5 g/cm3). Different foaming parameters have been varied, and some schemes have been drawn to summarize the characteristics of the foams prepared – cell size, cell density, foam density – depending on both the foaming conditions and nanoclay addition. This result thus illustrates the huge flexibility of the supercritical CO2 batch foaming process for tuning the foam cellular morphology.