Composite sepiolite/chitosan layer-by-layer coated flexible polyurethane foams with superior mechanical properties and energy absorption
[Display omitted] •Design of polyurethane foam composites with naturally abundant sepiolite nanoclay and biopolymer chitosan via simple and facile layer-by-layer coatings.•The coatings reinforce the foam skeleton, resulting in a 200% improvement of the Young’s and dynamic moduli compared to untreate...
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Published in | Composite structures Vol. 322; p. 117419 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Elsevier Ltd
15.10.2023
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | [Display omitted]
•Design of polyurethane foam composites with naturally abundant sepiolite nanoclay and biopolymer chitosan via simple and facile layer-by-layer coatings.•The coatings reinforce the foam skeleton, resulting in a 200% improvement of the Young’s and dynamic moduli compared to untreated foams.•Transmitted impact forces are reduced by 50% with six bilayer coatings, demonstrating an improved impact energy dissipation.•Detailed discussions are provided about the deformation mechanisms and enhancement of the quasi-static and dynamic mechanical performance.
Flexible polyurethane foam composites with enhanced stiffness and energy dissipation have been prepared via a facile layer-by-layer assembly approach. The composite foams consisted of naturally abundant nanoclay/chitosan multilayers (up to six) deposited onto the foam struts via dip-coating. The nanoclay/chitosan polyurethane foams were characterised using infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elemental mapping and μ-CT scanning. Quasi-static mechanical compression of the foams with 6 bilayers showed a 202% increase in the stiffness and a 33% enhancement in the damping loss factor compared to the uncoated pristine foam. Vibration transmissibility tests showed that the dynamic modulus of the 6-bilayer coated foams was 3 times that of the pristine foam. Remarkably, impact tests registered a 50% decrease in the transmitted impact force of these sepiolite/chitosan layer-by-layer coated open cell polyurethane foams, demonstrating their improved energy dissipation capability compared to other nanocoated foams in open literature. |
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ISSN: | 0263-8223 1879-1085 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.compstruct.2023.117419 |