Nanocellular Polymers

The book covers production, structure, properties and potential applications of nanocellular polymers fabricated by using foaming methods. These materials are porous materials with pore sizes in the nanometer range, processed as bulk or film materials, from a wide set of polymers. Reduction of pore size to the nanoscale drastically modifies important properties such as thermal conductivity, optical properties, mechanical properties and specific surface area among others providing improved properties and promising applications for these materials in automotive, aeronautic, renewable energies, construction, filtration or thermal insulation.

The book covers production, structure, properties and potential applications of nanocellular polymers fabricated by using foaming methods. These materials are porous materials with pore sizes in the nanometer range, processed as bulk or film materials, from a wide set of polymers. Reduction of pore size to the nanoscale drastically modifies important properties such as thermal conductivity, optical properties, mechanical properties and specific surface area among others providing improved properties and promising applications for these materials in automotive, aeronautic, renewable energies, construction, filtration or thermal insulation.

Polymeric Foams: Innovations in Technologies and Environmentally Friendly Materials offers the latest in technology and environmental innovations within the field of polymeric foams. It outlines how application-focused research in polymeric foam can continue to improve living quality and enhance social responsibility. This book: Addresses technological innovations including those in bead foams, foam injection molding, foams in tissue engineering, foams in insulation, and silicon rubber foam Discusses environmentally friendly innovations in PET foam, degradable and renewable foam, and physical blowing agents Describes principles as well as applications from internationally recognized foam experts This work is aimed at researchers and industry professionals across chemical, mechanical, materials, polymer engineering, and anyone else developing and applying these advanced polymeric materials.

POROUS PLASTICS A unique book by a well-known polymer scientist on a subject that is trending in plastics/polymer engineering. Porous polymers are materials that are having pores in their design. Porous polymers are important for various fields of application and are used with pores of different sizes, i.e., from macropores to micropores. This book focuses on the issues of porous polymers as well as low molecular compounds that can be introduced in porous polymers. The book begins with a chapter about polymers that are used for porous materials. Here, among others, microporous polymer networks, hyper-crosslinked polymers, and rigid ladder-type porous polymers are detailed. Related issues are also detailed in the subsequent chapters. In the next chapter, the major synthesis methods for porous polymers are described. Then, the properties and material testing methods, such as standards, are described in a chapter. In the following chapters, special fields of applications of porous polymers are described in detail, such as: medical uses, thermal insulation, membranes, separation methods, and other fields of use. Audience The book will be used by plastics engineers, materials scientists and polymer scientists/researchers in both industry and academia./p>

Foaming with Supercritical Fluids, Volume Nine provides a comprehensive description of the use of supercritical fluids as blowing agents in polymer foaming. To this aim, the fundamental issues on which the proper design and control of this process are rooted are discussed in detail, with specific attention devoted to the theoretical and experimental aspects of sorption thermodynamics of a blowing agent within a polymer, the effect of the absorbed blowing agent on the thermal, interfacial and rheological properties of the expanding matter, and the phase separation of the gaseous phase, and of the related bubble nucleation and growth phenomena. Several foaming technologies based on the use of supercritical blowing agents are then described, addressing the main issues in the light of the underlying chemical-physical phenomena. Offers strong fundamentals on polymer properties important on foaming Outlines the use of supercritical fluids for foaming Covers theoretical points-of-view, including foam formation of the polymer/gas solution to the setting of the final foam Discusses the several processing technologies and applications

Design and Applications of Nanostructured Polymer Blend and Nanocomposite Systems offers readers an intelligent, thorough introduction to the design and applications of this new generation of designer polymers with customized properties. The book assembles and covers, in a unified way, the state-of-the-art developments of this less explored type of material. With a focus on nanostructured polymer blends, the book discusses the science of nanostructure formation and the potential performance benefits of nanostructured polymer blends and composites for applications across many sectors: electronics, coatings, adhesives, energy (photovoltaics), aerospace, automotive, and medical devices (biocompatible polymers). The book also describes the design, morphology, and structure of nanostructured polymer composites and blends to achieve specific properties. Covers all important information for designing and selecting the right nanostructured polymer system Provides specialized knowledge on self-repairing, nanofibre and nanostructured multiphase materials, as well as evaluation and testing of nanostructured polymer systems Serves as a reference guide for development of new products in industries ranging from electronics, coatings, and energy, to transport and medical applications Describes the design, morphology, and structure of nanostructured polymer composites and blends to achieve specific properties

Advances in nanotechnology have boosted the development of more efficient materials, with emerging sectors (electronics, energy, aerospace, etc.) demanding novel materials to fulfill the complex technical requirements of their products. This is the case of polymeric foams, which may display good structural properties alongside functional characteristics through a complex composition and (micro)structure in which a gas phase is combined with rigid ones, mainly based on nanoparticles, dispersed throughout the polymer matrix. In recent years, there has been an important impulse in the development of nanocomposite foams, extending the concept of nanocomposites to the field of cellular materials. This, alongside developments in new advanced foaming technologies which have allowed the generation of foams with micro, sub-micro, and even nanocellular structures, has extended the applications of more traditional foams in terms of weight reduction, damping, and thermal and/or acoustic insulation to novel possibilities, such as electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. This Special Issue, which consists of a total of 22 articles, including one review article written by research groups of experts in the field, considers recent research on novel polymer-based foams in all their aspects: design, composition, processing and fabrication, microstructure, characterization and analysis, applications and service behavior, recycling and reuse, etc.

Polymeric foams are sturdy yet lightweight materials with applications across a variety of industries, from packaging to aerospace. As demand for these materials increase, so does innovation in the development of new processes and products. This book captures the most dynamic advances in processes, technologies, and products related to the polymeric foam market. It describes the latest business trends including new microcellular commercialization, sustainable foam products, and nanofoams. It also discusses novel processes, new and environmentally friendly blowing agents, and the development and usage of various types of foams, including bead and polycarbonate, polypropylene, polyetherimide microcellular, and nanocellular. The book also covers flame-retardant foams, rigid foam composites, and foam sandwich composites and details applications in structural engineering, electronics, and insulation. Authored by leading experts in the field, this book minimizes the gap between research and application in this important and growing area.