Controllable cell structures of poly(ether-block-amide) foams via isothermal melt crystallization-foaming in supercritical CO2

A simple isothermal melt crystallization-foaming method was proposed to regulate the crystallinity (Xc) of PEBA to prepare poly(ether-block-amide) (PEBA) foams with uniform or bimodal cell structures by supercritical CO2. PEBA with different Xc values was obtained by controlling the isothermal crystallization temperature (Tiso) and time (tiso). The rheological and DSC results showed that the viscoelasticity and Xc of the samples increased with decreasing Tiso and increasing tiso. PEBA foams with Xc above 1.1% exhibited a distinct bimodal cell structure. The increased crystals acted as heterogeneous nucleation sites to increase the cell density from 6.8 × 106 cells/cm3 to 3.58 × 1010 cells/cm3. The size of large cells decreased from 206.4 µm to 48.0 µm, and the number ratio of small to large cells increased from 2.34 to 65 times. Finally, a mechanism to explain the cell structure variation in PEBA foams was proposed, providing a new strategy for regulating the cell structure of polymeric foams.