Lightweight Antistatic Thermoplastic Elastomer Blend Foam: The Foaming Behavior and Mechanical Properties

A thermoplasticpolyester elastomer (TPEE) has been widely usedbecause of its excellent impact resistance and resilience, but itsmelt viscosity is too low to be used in the supercritical foaming.In addition, TPEE easily generates static electricity accumulationduring processing, which has a risk of fire. Herein, a thermoplasticpolyamide elastomer (PEBAX) with permanent antistatic properties wasblended with TPEE, and triglycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC) was used asa chain extender to improve the compatibility and melt strength ofthe blends. Then, the TPEE/PEBAX blends were foamed by supercriticalN(2), and the cell structure and mechanical and antistaticproperties of the blend foam were analyzed at a density of 0.1 +/- 0.001 g/cm(3). The results showed that when the blendingratio of TPEE/PEBAX was 70/30, the blend foam with a uniform cellstructure had the most excellent mechanical properties. The resilienceand elongation at break reached 83 and 850.3%, respectively. In addition,the surface resistivity and volume resistivity were 3.21 x 10(9) omega and 7.35 x 10(9) omega center dot cm, respectively,which were significantly lower than those of the IEC 61340 standard.

Automated summary

A blend of thermoplastic polyamide elastomer (PEBAX) and thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE) was prepared by using triglycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC) as a chain extender. The resulting blend foam showed a uniform cell structure and excellent mechanical properties, with a resilience of 83% and an elongation at break of 850.3%. Moreover, the blend foam exhibited significantly lower surface resistivity and volume resistivity compared to the IEC 61340 standard.