Silicone
rubber (VMQ)/functionalized graphene (FG) nanocomposite foams with
low density and better deformation recovery capability were successfully
prepared by environmental-friendly supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) foaming technology. The purpose of this project is to investigate
the effect of the matrix strength on cell morphology, mechanical properties,
and deformation recovery capability of silicone rubber foams. The
analysis of rheological results showed that due to the better compatibility
and interaction between the molecular chain and FG, the uniformly
dispersed 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane functionalized graphene
significantly enhanced the matrix strength compared with chemical
reduction graphene (rGO), and it was about 3 times higher. The improvement
of matrix strength was beneficial for limiting the shrinkage of the
cell wall so that VMQ/FG foams exhibited larger cell size and lighter
weight than that of VMQ/rGO foams under the same foaming conditions.
In addition, the great improvement in matrix strength of VMQ/FG foams
contributed to resisting the external pressure and deformation recovery
capability with 2% permanent compression set better than VMQ/rGO foams.
Meanwhile, VMQ/FG foams also exhibited improvements in tensile strength
(130%) and the corresponding elongation at break (140%) compared to
VMQ/rGO foams.
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