Generation of microcellular biodegradable polycaprolactone foams in supercritical carbon dioxide

Microcellular foaming of low‐T_g biodegradable and biocompatible polycaprolactone (PCL) in supercritical CO₂ has been studied. The purpose is to apply microcellular materials to drug containers and medical materials for artificial skin or bone. Effects of a series of variable factors on the foam structures, such as saturation temperature, saturation pressure, saturation time, and depressurization time were studied. The experimental results indicate that, while keeping other variables unchanged, higher saturation temperature leads to reduced bulk densities and different saturation pressures result in different nucleation processes. In addition, saturation time has a profound effect on the structure of the product. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 593–597, 2004     

Compressive behavior of microcellular polystyrene foams processed in supercritical carbon dioxide

Microcellular polystyrene foams have been prepared using supercritical carbon dioxide as the foaming agent. The cellular structures resulting from this process have been shown to have a significant effect on the corresponding mechanical properties of the foams. Compression tests were performed on highly expanded foams having oriented, anisotropic cells. For these materials an anisotropic foam model can be used to predict the effect of cell size and shape on the compressive yield stress. Beyond yield, the foams deformed heterogeneously under a constant stress. Microstructural investigations of the heterogeneous deformation indicate that the dominant mechanisms are progressive microcellular collapse followed by foam densification. The phenomenon is compared to the development of a stable neck commonly observed in polymers subjected to uniaxial tension, and a model that describes the densification process is formulated from simple energy balance considerations.     

Production of microcellular foam plastics by supercritical carbon dioxide

The production of microcellular plastic was studied in the polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA)-supercritical carbon dioxide and polycarbonate (PC)-supercritical carbon dioxide systems. The test pieces of PMMA and PC were put into a saturation vessel of which temperature and pressure were kept constant. Supercritical carbon dioxide at temperature between 303K and 393K and pressure between 100 bar and 250 bar was used as a foaming agent. After saturation of carbon dioxide, the pressure was quickly released to atmospheric pressure. The samples were immediately taken out from the vessel and heated in an oil bath. The fractured part of the sample was used for microstructure analysis with SEM. The effect of the saturation temperature, pressure of sorption and the foaming time on the cell mean size and cell density of the foam was investigated by considering the solubility of carbon dioxide in PMMA and PC. The foam morphologies of the foamed plastics were affected by solubility of carbon dioxide, which was directly related to saturation temperature and pressure. The cell density increased and, consequently, the cell size decreased with the solubility of carbon dioxide. The foaming time can be used a controlling factor to obtain the desired foam structure and the volume expansion ratio.     

Generation of microcellular foams of PVDF and its blends using supercritical carbon dioxide in a continuous process

Use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) as a blowing agent to generate microcellular polymer foams (MPFs) has recently received considerable attention due to environmental concerns associated with conventional organic blowing agents. While such foams derived from amorphous thermoplastics have been previously realized, semicrystalline MPFs have not yet been produced in a continuous scCO₂ process. This work describes the foaming of highly crystalline poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its blends with amorphous polymers during extrusion. Foams composed of neat PVDF and immiscible blends of PVDF with polystyrene exhibit poor cell characteristics, whereas miscible blends of PVDF with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) yield foams possessing vastly improved morphologies. The results reported herein illustrate the effects of blend composition and scCO₂ solubility on PVDF/PMMA melt viscosity, which decreases markedly with increasing PMMA content and scCO₂ concentration. Morphological characterization of microcellular PVDF/PMMA foams reveals that the cell density increases as the PMMA fraction is increased and the foaming temperature is decreased. This study confirms that novel MPFs derived continuously from semicrystalline polymers in the presence of scCO₂ can be achieved through judicious polymer blending.     

Generation of microcellular polymeric foams using supercritical carbon dioxide. II: Cell growth and skin formation

We have generated microcellular polymeric foam structures using a pressure induced phase separation in concentrated mixtures of supercritical CO₂ and poly(methyl methacrylate). The process typically generates a microcellular core structure encased by a nonporous skin, the thickness of which decreases with increasing saturation pressure. This trend can be described by a model for skin formation that is based on the diffusion rate of gas out of the sample. Significant density reductions on the order of 30 to 70% can be achieved by changing the pressure and temperature conditions in the foaming process. There are several ways in which the saturation pressure affects the average cell size, with the net effect that cell size decreases sharply with increasing pressure above 2000 psi, leveling out at higher pressures. Cell size increases with increasing temperature from 40°C to 70°C. A model for cell growth, based on a cell model of Aremanesh and Advani, modified to include the effect of CO₂ on model parameters, reproduces these trends.     

Nanoplatelet reinforcement of cavity cell walls in polymer foams using carbon dioxide supercritical fluid

Reinforcing the cavity cell walls of polymer foams using nanoparticles can offer a new era for the property‐structure‐processing field in the development of functionalized ultra‐light components and devices manufactured from foam. When the nanoparticles are exfoliated in polymers, the viscosity substantially increases and thus mixing or foaming usually becomes almost impossible. We use CO₂ supercritical fluid (CO₂ SCF) for the mixing and foaming of poly(ethylene‐vinyl acetate) copolymer (EVA) with montmorillonite (MMT) nanoplatelets. The in situ evaporation of CO₂ induces robust cavity cells of the EVA/MMT nanocomposite foam in a stable form of spherical shapes, which are seldom achieved by other methods. As the bubble grows and becomes stabilized in CO₂ SCF, the exfoliated MMT nanoparticles are aligned at the cell walls by the Gibbs adsorption principle to minimize the surface energy at the gas–liquid interface and increase the rupture strength of the cavity walls. It is demonstrated that the developed methodology can be successfully used for foaming EVA containing high vinyl acetate (VA) content (>40%). Since EVA is too soft to construct cell walls of foam using conventional methods, the applicability of the developed methodology is extensively broadened for superior adhesion and compatibility with other materials. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46615.     

The influence of in situ synthesized nanoparticles on microstructure and compression properties of polymer foams during supercritical carbon dioxide foaming

The influence of in situ synthesized nanoparticles on the microstructure and compression properties of polymer foams during supercritical carbon dioxide foaming has been investigated. The in situ synthesized Ag nanoparticles were chosen to be heterogeneous nucleating agent. For achieving our target, the influence of the nanoparticle size on the cell structure and the nucleation mechanism has been detailed discussed firstly. The results show that the in situ synthesized nanoparticles can be heterogeneous nucleation agent to improve the cell density of the PMMA‐based foams. The particle size is able to reduce to the critical size of heterogeneous nucleation agent and, then, can highly improve the cell density of the foams. The Ag nanoparticles with average size of 2.2 nm led to 85% increase in compressive strength of the foams. The improvement of strength of the polymer matrix and the microstructure of the foams can lead to the remarkable increase in the mechanical properties of the foams. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44629.     

超临界CO2微孔发泡塑料的研究进展

利用超临界CO2发泡制备微孔发泡塑料是当前的研究热点,具有发泡效率高、绿色环保、对制品的机械性能及外观影响小等优点.综述了超临界CO2微孔发泡塑料的研究进展.介绍了超临界CO2的三种发泡机理:均相成核、非均相成核与外力场加强成核机理.概述了间歇式、半连续式和连续式发泡工艺,阐述了发泡过程中防止泡孔黏结、破裂的方法及发泡...     

Generation of microcellular polymeric foams using supercritical carbon dioxide. I: Effect of pressure and temperature on nucleation

Supercritical carbon dioxide is known to swell and plasticize poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, dramatically. We have employed a pressure quench in a CO₂-swollen PMMA sample to generate a microcellular core structure encased by a nonporous skin. Further, we have demonstrated that classical nucleation theory can be used to model the effects of saturation pressure, temperature, and time on the cell density of the porous materials, provided that the effects of the CO₂-diluent on the surface tension of PMMA are adequately taken into account. This is because our system is in a homogeneous liquid state at our operating conditions because of the plasticization. Both model predictions and data indicate that cell density rises sharply at a saturation pressure of approximately 14 MPa (at 40°C), leveling out above 27 MPa. By contrast, the effect of temperature on cell density in the range 40°C to 80°C is minimal.     

The preparation and properties of polystyrene/functionalized graphene nanocomposite foams using supercritical carbon dioxide

In this work, polystyrene (PS)/functionalized graphene nanocomposite foams were prepared using supercritical carbon dioxide. Thermally reduced graphene oxide (TRG) and graphene oxide (GO) were incorporated into the PS. Subsequently, the nanocomposites were foamed with supercritical CO₂. The morphology and properties of the nanocomposites and the nucleation efficiency of functionalized graphene in foaming PS are discussed. Compared with GO, TRG exhibited a higher nucleation efficiency and more effective cell expansion inhibition thanks to its larger surface area and better exfoliated structure. It is suggested that the factors that have a significant influence on the nucleation efficiency of TRG and GO originate from the differences in surface properties and chemical structure. Furthermore, PS/TRG nanocomposites and their nanocomposite foams also possess good electrical properties which enable them to be used as lightweight functional materials.© 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

用超临界二氧化碳法制备超强吸水剂

以N，N’-亚甲基双丙烯酰胺(BIS)为交联剂，研究了疏水性单体丙烯酸十八酯(OA)与亲水性单体丙烯酸(AA)在超临界二氧化碳中的聚合反应，制备了超强吸水剂。结果表明，65℃、压力大于13MPa时，制备的产物都为白色固体粉末。用超临界二氧化碳萃取技术可以对产物进行纯化，50℃、20MPa下，产物经超临界二氧化碳萃取2次后纯度可大于95％，4次后单体残留率为0．28％。该超强吸水剂的吸水率有一定下降，然而保水率却得到提高。     

Synthesis of smart core-shell polymer in supercritical carbon dioxide

Herein we report a new and simple method that has been developed to prepare smart polymeric microgels consisting of temperature-sensitive cores with pH-sensitive shells. The microgels were obtained directly from one step seed polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and N,N-methylenebisacrylamide from water-soluble biopolymers containing carboxymethyl groups in supercritical carbon dioxide. The effect of initial concentration of initiator, crosslinker, and carboxymethyl starch (CMS) dose as well as reaction pressures on the yield and morphology of the resulting polymer were investigated. CMS and crosslinker worked effectively as surfactant to some extent. PNIPAM/CMS particles with diameters in 100 nm and narrow particle size distribution were produced in supercritical carbon dioxide, in high yield and in short reaction times.     

A simple correlation to predict thermal conductivity of supercritical carbon dioxide

Nowadays due to wide usages of supercritical fluids (SCFs) technology in different industrial fields, thermal conductivity estimation of carbon dioxide is so significant. In this study, a new correlation for the prediction of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) thermal conductivity based 600 data points from the literature is proposed. The simple correlation is function of density and temperature. The proposed SC-CO₂ thermal conductivity correlation has better performance (lower AARE%) and higher thermal conductivity prediction ability at wider range of temperature from 290 to 800 K and density between 1 and 1200 kg/m³ respect to Jarrahian et al. and Bahadori et al. thermal conductivity models.     

A predictive method for the solubility of drug in supercritical carbon dioxide

We present a predictive approach for the solubility of drug in supercritical CO₂. The fugacity of drug in the solid phase is estimated from its melting temperature and heat of fusion, and the fugacity of the drug in its hypothetical liquid state. The fugacity of the drug is calculated from the Peng–Robinson (PR) EOS. Temperature and composition dependence of the interaction parameters a(T,x) and b(x) of the PR EOS are obtained from the quantum mechanics-based, COSMO-SAC solvation model. As a consequence, the method does not require input of experimental data of the mixture. The average logarithmic deviation (ALD-x) in predicted solubility of 46 drugs in subcritical and supercritical carbon dioxide (T = 293.15–473 K, P = 8.5–50 MPa, and 1160 solubility data ranging from 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻²) was found to be 0.81 (a factor of 5.3). The same method was also examined for solid solubility in a variety of solvents (60 solids including 34 different solvents (with different polarities) and 190 drug-solvent pairs) at ambient pressure. The ALD-x was found to be slightly better (0.58 or a factor of 2.89). The proposed method, the PR + COSMOSAC EOS, is thus a useful tool for a priori prediction of solid solubility in scCO₂, as well as for other solvents.     

Effect of nanoparticles orientation on morphology of polymeric nanocomposite foams: preparation of foamed nanocomposite fibers by supercritical carbon dioxide

ABSTRACT

Polymeric foams have received increasing attention in both academic and industrial communities. Using of nanoparticles as heterogeneous nucleation agent has been verified as one of the most valid means to enhance cell nucleation and improve cell morphology. However, few researches have been conducted to investigate the effect of the nanoparticles’ spatial orientation on their nucleation efficiency. In this work, to study the influence of the orientation of nanoparticles on their performance in improving morphology of polymeric foam, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite fibers with different nanoparticles (carbon nanotubes, graphene and SiO₂) were prepared by using different traction speeds. The different traction speeds lead to different orientation state of the nanoparticles which then resulted different nucleation effect. It was found that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were easily oriented and aligned along the fiber length direction under the high traction speed, while graphene and SiO₂ nanoparticles did not show orientation under the traction speed in this study. As a result, the foam of TPU/CNTs composite fibers from high traction speed exhibited a much smaller cell size and higher cell density compared to the foams of the fibers from low traction speeds, while TPU/graphene, and TPU/SiO₂ composite fibers with different traction speeds showed almost similar cell size and size density after foaming, indicating that the orientated nanoparticles possessed higher heterogeneous nucleation efficiency. To our best knowledge, this work, for the first time, demonstrated the high nucleation effect of the aligned nanoparticles, which hopefully open a new path for improving the cell morphology of polymeric foam materials.     

Crosslinked microparticle preparation in supercritical carbon dioxide with photopolymerization

An antisolvent processing technique by simultaneous compressed antisolvent precipitation and photopolymerization for cross-linked polymer microparticles formation was presented in this paper. In this process, photopolymerization of the homogeneous solution composed of methylene chloride, poly(ethylene glycol)600 diacrylate (PEG600DA) as monomer and diphenyl-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)-phosphine oxide (TPO) or 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone (DMPA) as photoinitiator resulted to microparticle when it was sprayed into supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) and simultaneously exposed to initiating light. High miscibility of the solvent in scCO₂ made methylene chloride quickly extracted from the dispersion phase, leaving very high concentrations of monomer (PEG600DA) dispersed in scCO₂. The high monomer concentration combined with photo initiating polymerization facilitates rapid reaction rates and ultimately lead to polymer precipitation. Particle size and morphology were adjustable by changing the processing conditions, such as temperature and pressure. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Strategy for the preparation of lightweight polypropylene/polyethylene-octene elastomer composite foams with different phase morphologies using supercritical carbon dioxide

Polypropylene (PP)/polyethylene-octene elastomer (POE) composites with a “sea-island” structure and a cocontinuous structure were prepared. With the selection of a suitable foaming temperature, the supercritical carbon dioxide foaming of PP/POE composites with different phase morphologies occurred only in the POE phase. The effects of the POE content, foaming temperature, pressure, and number of layers on the cell size, cell density, apparent density, foaming layer density, and foaming ratio under different phase morphologies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, polarized optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic thermomechanical analysis. This article provides a novel approach for foaming PP at a low temperature. For PP/POE-blended composites with a “sea-island” structure, the foaming temperature is as low as 80 °C, and for PP/POE alternating multilayered composites with a cocontinuous structure, foaming can occur at 40 °C. Compared with the conventional methods for foaming PP, this method avoids the problems of a high foaming temperature, a narrow range of the foaming temperature, and a low melt strength of the PP. Thus, the PP foaming method was successfully improved, yielding a new technique for the preparation of lightweight PP. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48157.     

Drying processes for preparation of titania aerogel using supercritical carbon dioxide

Supercritical carbon dioxide drying was performed for the preparation of titania aerogels from sol–gel routes. The conditions of supercritical carbon dioxide drying were 313–323 K and 7.8–15.5 MPa. The solvents in titania wet gels obtained from the sol–gel routes were replaced by acetone. The titania aerogels obtained from supercritical carbon dioxide drying form needle-like structures. In supercritical carbon dioxide drying, the extraction rates of acetone from the wet gels were measured by using an on-line Fourier transform infrared spectroscope. It was found that the titania aerogels with lower cohesion were induced from the formations of homogenous phase for carbon dioxide + acetone system and the lower extraction rates of acetone. Furthermore, titania films were prepared by the depositions of the titania aerogels on ITO-coated PET substrates. The needle-like aerogels with lower cohesion derive the titania film with high surface area.     

超临界二氧化碳发泡EPDM/LDPE热塑性弹性体微孔泡沫

本文通过熔融共混制得了EPDM/LDPE热塑性弹性体,压制标准试样,然后使用超临界二氧化碳作为发泡剂在高压反应釜中进行物理发泡。通过万能拉力机测试了弹性体力学性能,用扫描电镜观察了拉伸断面和泡孔的微观结构。结果表明：DCP硫化体系的热塑性弹性体的综合力学性能要优于硫黄硫化体系,随着硫化剂用量的增多,拉伸强度和撕裂强度有一个最大值,硬度上升;橡塑比在4:6时,力学性能达到最佳,最大拉伸强度为7.5MPa,最大撕裂强度为27.6MPa。扫描电镜观察其拉伸断面形貌,表明EPDM橡胶相与LDPE塑料相呈现“海-岛”两相微观结构;泡孔大小均匀性较好,成功制备了微米级微孔泡沫且泡孔大小分布均匀。     

New challenges in polymer foaming: A review of extrusion processes assisted by supercritical carbon dioxide

It is well known that supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO₂) is soluble in molten polymers and acts as a plasticizer. The dissolution of sc-CO₂ leads to a decrease in the viscosity of the liquid polymer, the melting point and the glass transition temperature. These properties have been used in several particle generation processes such as PGSS (particles from gas saturated solutions).It is therefore highly likely that extrusion processes would benefit from the use of sc-CO₂ since the rationale of the extrusion processes is to formulate, texture and shape molten polymers by forcing them through a die. Combining these two technologies, extrusion and supercritical fluids, could open up new applications in extrusion.The main advantage of introducing sc-CO₂ in the barrel of an extruder is its function as a plasticizer, which allows the processing of molecules which would otherwise be too fragile to withstand the mechanical stresses and the operating temperatures of a standard extrusion process. In addition, the dissolved CO₂ acts as a foaming agent during expansion through the die. It is therefore possible to control pore generation and growth by controlling the operating conditions.This review focuses on experimental work carried out using continuous extrusion. A continuous process is more economically favourable than batch foaming processes because it is easier to control, has a higher throughput and is very versatile in the properties and shapes of the products obtained.The coupling of extrusion and supercritical CO₂ technologies has already broadened the range of application of extrusion processes. The first applications were developed for the agro-food industry 20 years ago. However, most thermoplastics could potentially be submitted to sc-CO₂-assisted extrusion, opening new challenging opportunities, particularly in the field of pharmaceutical applications.This coupled technology is however still very new and further developments of both experimental and modelling studies will be necessary to gain better theoretical understanding and technical expertise prior to industrial use, especially in the pharmaceutical field.