Rational design of high-performance epoxy/expandable microsphere foam with outstanding mechanical, thermal, and dielectric properties

Previous studies on epoxy foams were subjected to the specific property, and improvements in thermal insulation or dielectric property were usually accompanied by the sacrifice of mechanical strength or thermal stability. The current research reported a high-performance epoxy foam by the pre-curing process using E-51/DDS and expandable microsphere (EMP) as polymer matrix and physical blowing agent, respectively. The effect of EMP loading on the structure & property of epoxy foam was reported. The mean diameter of E-51/EMP foam was in the range of 19–21 μm. The compression property of E-51/EMP foam was fit for the power-law model and its integrity was well maintained during compressive test. Compared with bulky epoxy, a significant decrease of thermal conductivity of 62.93% was observed in 10 wt% EMP-filled epoxy foam. E-51/EMP foam showed superior thermal stabilities, with a T 5% of over 300°C. The dielectric constant was decreased by 54.5% from 4.92 in bulky epoxy to 2.24 in E-51/EMP foam (10 wt% EMP). Notably, there was a percolation phenomenon of EMP (6 wt%) regarding on the structure & property of E-51/EMP foam. This study provides lightweight, robust, high-temperature-resistant, and low-dielectric-constant epoxy foams with the wide application prospects in buoyant, electronic packaging, and energy-saving industries.