Recent advancements in manufacturing technologies of microcellular polymers: a review

Significant research efforts are being pursued by numerous plastic foaming industries towards the transformation of macrocellular polymer foam to microcellular and imminent future is trending towards nanocellular polymer foams. These novel foamed plastic possess enhanced properties and easy tunability which could potentially fulfill many of the ever-evolving industrial requirements. These industrial requirements have led to several advancements in the current manufacturing technologies and as a result, new industrial-scale production technologies are being researched upon cellular plastics and its allied composites. The microcellular polymeric foams have huge industrial demand due to their improved properties such as specific strength, energy absorption, and thermal/electrical/acoustic insulation compared to their unfoamed counterparts. This review article aims to summarise the existing manufacturing technologies for producing microcellular polymers and provide an up-to-date report on the recent advancements in these manufacturing technologies.