The compressive resilience and shrinkage resistance properties of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) microcellular composite foams reinforced by functionalized microcrystalline cellulose

In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) modified with triethoxyvinylsilane (T-MCC) on compressive resilience and shrinkage resistance properties of microcellular composite foams based on poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) were reported. It was found that the modification of MCC (T-MCC) with triethoxyvinylsilane could enhance the dispersion of MCC in the PBAT matrix and their compatibility. The modified microcrystalline cellulose can be embedded in the foam system as a "skeleton", interconnecting with adjacent cells to form the unique bridge-shell structure, contributing to a complete structure and enhancing the mechanical properties of foamed plastics. The complementary techniques of filling and crosslinking to produce foam with good compression elasticity and shrinkage resistance, which can increase its application, reduce the cost. Ultimately, PBAT/30T-MCC foam with 16.00 um cell size was successfully obtained, with the cell density as high as 2.18 × 10⁹ cells/cm³ and shrinkage rate of less than 3.6 %, and the compressive strength and resilience of the foam were as high as 55.1 KPa and 90.1 %, respectively, after ten loaded-unloaded compression tests. This study provides a theoretical basis for the design and development of PBAT composite foams with low cost, high shrinkage resistance, and high compressive resilience.