Fabrication of Ultra-low Density Polyethylene Foams From Thermally-Induced Phase Separation

The ultra-low density porous polyethylene foams with open-network structure, density of 5.8 mg/cm³, corresponding cell size of 25 μm were fabricated by the thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) technique and the freeze-drying technique. The experiments show that the morphologies of these foams are determined by the thermodynamics and kinetics of phase separation.