Preparation and properties of hollow glass bead filled silicone rubber foams with low thermal conductivity

Silicone rubber foams filled with various content and different particle size of hollow glass bead (HGB) were prepared by compression molding. It was revealed that compared with silica filled silicone rubber foams, HGB filled materials achieved higher foaming extent, lower thermal conductivity, and lower hardness, which can be significant for thermal insulation materials. For HGB filled materials, the morphology indicated the average cell size decreased with higher HGB content and larger particle size of HGB. The density, thermal conductivity, hardness and tensile strength increased with higher HGB content and larger particle size of HGB. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.