Preparation of antistatic slow rebound polyurethane foam based on dimethyl octadecyl hydroxy ethyl ammonium nitrate intercalated reduced graphene oxide/carbon black antistatic system

Abstract Slow rebound polyurethane foam (SPUF) has developed rapidly because of its excellent performance in sound insulation, energy absorption, and tactile sensation. However, the friction‐induced electrostatic charge accumulation occurs easily due to its high resistivity. In this paper, dimethyl octadecyl hydroxy ethyl ammonium nitrate (SN) intercalated reduced graphene oxide (SN‐RGO) were prepared as the conductive agent. The antistatic slow rebound polyurethane foam (ASR‐PUF) was prepared with SN‐RGO/carbon black as antistatic system and silicone‐modified polyethylene glycol (Si‐APEG) as low temperature resistant agent. The structures of SN‐RGO were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT‐IR), wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The effects SN‐RGO on the structures, mechanical properties, low‐temperature resistance, and antistatic property of ASR‐PUF were studied. It was found that SN‐RGO acts as heterogeneous cell nucleating agent, which slightly increases the apparent core density and slightly decreases the porosity of ASR‐PUF. The addition of SN‐RGO increases both the tensile strength and elongation at break of ASR‐PUF, and has little effect on the temperature sensitive index. The surface resistance of ASR‐PUF decreases to 1.1 × 10 8 Ω with a SN‐RGO content of 4 wt%, thereby achieving an antistatic effect. Highlights SN‐RGO acts as heterogeneous cell nucleating agent in PU foaming. SN‐RGO/carbon black provide good antistatic property and mechanical properties without affecting the low‐temperature resistance of ASR‐PUF. ASR‐PUF with an appropriate content of SN‐RGO exhibits excellent comprehensive performance.