Preparation of Silicone Rubber/Carbon Nanotubes/Carbon Blacks Composite Generated Foam by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

A novel silicone rubber/carbon nanotube/carbon black composite foam was prepared by using supercritical carbon dioxide as the physical foaming agent. The effects of different carbon nanotubes and the different processing parameters on the foaming behavior of silicone rubber and the electrical properties of silicone rubber foams were systematically studied. The results show that carbon nanotubes and carbon black were well dispersed in the silicone matrix and there were no obvious aggregates around the matrix. The well dispersed conductive fillers could increase the cell nucleation density when foaming. Thus, the foam has quite small cell size and high cell density. Moreover, it was found that the cell size became larger and more cell collapse was observed with the increase of the saturated temperatures. While, the foam with small cell size and high cell density could be obtained by increasing the saturated pressures. Furthermore, the foam with small cell size, high cell density and uniform cells corresponded to the better conductive performance. © 2017, Editorial Board of Polymer Materials Science & Engineering. All right reserved.