Activated Carbon-derived Polyester Elastomer Foams with Tailored Structure and Blackness for High-performance Thermally Insulating Applications

Xu-Jiang Sun; Yan-Ru Zhang; Jia-Peng Ma; Xu Wang; Ke-Jian Cui; Ting-Ting Feng; Gui-Long Wang

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3641-6

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Activated Carbon-derived Polyester Elastomer Foams with Tailored Structure and Blackness for High-performance Thermally Insulating Applications

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-07-01

- Activated Carbon-derived Polyester Elastomer Foams with Tailored Structure and Blackness for High-performance Thermally Insulating Applications
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 7, Pages: 2258-2268(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.State key Laboratory of Advanced Equipment and Technology for Metal Forming; Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
  b.Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China
  c.Shandong Special Equipment Inspection Institute Group Co., Ltd., Jinan 250199, China
  d.Shoe Research and Development Innovation System; Li Ning (China) Sports Goods Co., Ltd., Beijing 101111, China
- Author bio：
  
  guilong@sdu.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3641-6
  CLC：
- Received：30 January 2026，
  
  Accepted：02 March 2026，
  
  Online First：14 May 2026，
  
  Published：05 July 2026
- Accepted：
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Sun, X. J.; Zhang, Y. R.; Ma, J. P.; Wang, X.; Cui, K. J.; Feng, T. T.; Wang, G. L. Activated carbon-derived polyester elastomer foams with tailored structure and blackness for high-performance thermally insulating applications. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2258–2268

Xu-Jiang Sun, Yan-Ru Zhang, Jia-Peng Ma, et al. Activated Carbon-derived Polyester Elastomer Foams with Tailored Structure and Blackness for High-performance Thermally Insulating Applications[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(7): 2258-2268.
Sun, X. J.; Zhang, Y. R.; Ma, J. P.; Wang, X.; Cui, K. J.; Feng, T. T.; Wang, G. L. Activated carbon-derived polyester elastomer foams with tailored structure and blackness for high-performance thermally insulating applications. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2258–2268 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3641-6.

Xu-Jiang Sun, Yan-Ru Zhang, Jia-Peng Ma, et al. Activated Carbon-derived Polyester Elastomer Foams with Tailored Structure and Blackness for High-performance Thermally Insulating Applications[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(7): 2258-2268. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3641-6.

摘要

A green microcellular foaming strategy with activated carbon produces lightweight TPEE foams featuring refined cells

reduced shrinkage

high recovery

low thermal conductivity

enhanced strength

and hydrophobic surfaces.

Abstract

Lightweight materials are essential for advanced green manufacturing and ecological sustainability because they reduce energy consumption

minimize pollution

and improve resource utilization. Herein

a reinforcement strategy utilizing activated carbon (AC) as a functional filler to enhance the foaming behavior of thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE) was developed

enabling the successful fabrication of lightweight

high-strength

and elastic TPEE/AC foams with superior hydrophobic and thermally insulating performance using environmentally friendly microcellular foaming technology. The uniform dispersion of AC enhanced the melt strength and the solubility of CO

thereby significantly improving the foaming behavior

resulting in refined cell structures and reduced shrinkage. The optimized T-A-5 foam achieved a high expansion ratio (16.0)

low shrinkage ratio (70.0%)

and high recovery ratio (79.4%)

outperforming the pure TPEE foam by 15.9%

12.3%

and 212.6%

respectively. Moreover

the viscoelastic properties of TPEE/AC composites tested under two different conditions revealed contrasting trends in loss factor

indicating that the influence of fillers on TPEE viscoelasticity is highly temperature-dependent and state-sensitive. Further

the lightness and blackness of TPEE/AC foams can be tailored by varying AC content and cellular morphology. Moreover

the TPEE/AC foams exhibited improved compressive strength

low thermal conductivity (35.9 mW·m

–1

·K

–1

)

and high hydrophobicity (122.5°). This study provides an effective strategy for designing high-performance TPEE foams with significant potential for energy-saving and environment-friendly applications.

关键词

Keywords

references

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