Nanocellular Foams of PS/PMMA Polymer Blends

A nanocellular PS/PMMA polymer blend foam was prepared, where bubble nucleation was localized in the PMMA domains. The blend, which contains dispersed nanoscale PMMA islands, was prepared by polymerizing MMA monomers in a PS matrix to form highly dispersed PMMA domains in the PS matrix by diffusion mixing. The resulting blend was foamed with CO2 at room temperature. A higher depressurization rate at lower foaming temperature made the bubble diameter smaller and the bubble density larger, and a higher PS composition in the blend resulted in a larger bubble density. A void with 40–50 nm in average diameter and a pore density of 8.5 × 1014 cm−3 was obtained as for the finest nanocellular foams. magnified image