High Performance Attapulgite/Polypyrrole Nanocomposite Reinforced Polystyrene (PS) Foam Based on Supercritical CO₂...

CO₂ has been regarded as one of the most promising blowing agents for polystyrene (PS) foam due to its non-flammability, low price, nontoxicity, and eco-friendliness. However, the low solubility and fast diffusivity of CO₂ in PS hinder its potential applications. In this study, an attapulgite (ATP)/polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposite was developed using the in situ polymerization method to generate the hierarchical cell texture for the PS foam based on the supercritical CO₂ foaming. The results demonstrated that the nanocomposite could act as an efficient CO₂ capturer enabling the random release of it during the foaming process. In contrast to the pure PS foam, the ATP/PPy nanocomposite reinforced PS foam is endowed with high cell density (up to 1.9 × 10⁶) and similar thermal conductivity as the neat PS foam, as well as high compression modulus. Therefore, the in situ polymerized ATP/PPy nanocomposite makes supercritical CO₂ foaming desired candidate to replace the widely used fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons as PS blowing agents.