A novel “reinforcing-foaming-recovering” strategy for achieving thermally insulating green foams with ultrafast degradation

Abstract

Lightweight porous materials have garnered increasing attention in application domains of intelligent construction and flexible thermal insulation, owing to their customizable 3D porous structures and outstanding performances. Nonetheless, the severe environmental pollution resulting from the accumulation of non-degradable plastic waste in the ecosystem has sparked significant interest in developing bio-degradable thermal insulation foams. The preparation of biodegradable foam, however, typically requires operating specialized equipment for long periods under extreme conditions, which diminishes its environmental friendliness as claimed. Herein, we present a pioneering "Reinforcing-Foaming-Recovering" strategy to achieve ultralight and recyclable green foams with excellent thermal insulation properties. This innovative strategy, involving materials reinforcing and low-pressure foaming complemented by nitrogen-assisted gas recovering enables the preparation of low-density (0.08 g/cm³) biodegradable foams with restricted shrinkage ratio (<5%). Thanks to the easy-to-control foaming method, combined with the improved 3D network cellular structures caused by nitrogen-assisted gas exchange, the achieved green foams exhibit favorable thermal insulation (39.8 mW/m·K) and superior biodegradation efficiency (11.5%/2 months). The approach of energy-efficient nitrogen-assisted low-pressure foaming of degradable polymers offers a promising and practical solution for producing eco-friendly and multifunctional porous materials with economic advantages.