Large-Scale Preparation of Uniform Millet Bread-like Durable Benzoxazine-Phthalonitrile Foam with Outstanding Mechanical and Thermal Properties

Abstract

It is essentially important to develop durable polymer foams for services in high-temperature conditions. The current study reported the preparations and properties of a high-performance benzoxazine-phthalonitrile (BZPN) foam by utilizing azodicarbonamide and tween-80 as the blowing agent and stabilizer, respectively. Rheological and curing studies indicated that the appropriate foaming temperature for BZPN foam is below 180 °C, and its foaming viscosity window is below 20 Pa·s. Guided by these results, uniform millet bread-like BZPN foams with decimeter leveling size were successfully realized, suggesting the high prospect of large-scale production. The structural, mechanical, and thermal properties of BZPN foams were then investigated in detail. BZPN foam involves a hierarchical fracture mechanism during the compressive test, and it shows a high compression strength of over 6 MPa. During a burning test over 380 °C, no visible smoke, softening, or droplet phenomena appeared and the macroscopic structure of BZPN foam was well maintained. Mechanically robust, flame-retardant, and uniform large-size BZPN foam are promising light durable materials with high service temperatures, i.e., as filling materials even in a very narrow pipette.