Preparation and Properties of Thermal Expandable Polymer Microspheres and Polyurethane Foam Filled with Them
ZHOU Xiang1,2, YU Dayang2, BAO Yongzhong1,2
1. College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
2. Quzhou Division, Polytechnic Institute of Zhejiang University, Quzhou 324000, China
Abstract：Thermally expandable polymer microspheres (TEPMs) can be utilized for polyurethane (PU) foaming, and their characteristics directly influence the pore structure and performance of PU foam. In this work, vinylidene chloride (VDC), acrylonitrile (AN), and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were selected as monomers, isopentane as the blowing agent, nano-silica dispersion as the dispersant, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the crosslinking agent. TEPMs with a VDC-AN-MMA copolymer shell and an isopentane core were prepared via suspension polymerization. The effects of nano-silica dispersant and EGDMA crosslinking agent usage on the properties of TEPMs were investigated. By analyzing the viscoelastic characteristics of shell polymers with different crosslinking degrees, the mechanism of crosslinking agent dosage on the expansion behavior of TEPMs was elucidated. It was found that when the dispersant usage was 7.5% and the crosslinking agent usage was 0.1%, microspheres (denoted as C-7.5-0.1) with excellent foaming performance could be obtained. Furthermore, using C-7.5-0.1 as the PU foaming agent, the influence of its addition amount on the pore structure and properties of PU foam was studied. The results indicated that when the addition amount of C-7.5-0.1 was 8.0%, the resulting PU foam exhibited uniform pores, an average pore diameter comparable to the size of the microspheres after expansion in air, high porosity, low hardness, and good mechanical properties, demonstrating potential for application in the field of chemical mechanical polishing for chip processing.
ZHOU Xiang,YU Dayang,BAO Yongzhong. Preparation and Properties of Thermal Expandable Polymer Microspheres and Polyurethane Foam Filled with Them[J]. Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, 2026, 42(1): 11-19.
