A roll excellent in abrasion resistance, which contains: a resin layer containing a first atom group having a plurality of sulfur atoms, a plurality of second atom groups having a carbon chain that has a plurality of carbon atoms arranged in a line and has an end bonded to any one of the plurality of sulfur atoms, and a plurality of third atom groups each of which has a urethane bond and is bonded to any one of the plurality of second atom groups; and a cylindrical foamed resin having an outer surface covered with the resin layer.

A surfactant and a method of forming the surfactant having the formula (I) where a is an integer from 1 to 10, b is an integer from 0 to 10, R.sub.1 is —CH.sub.3 or —H, n is an integer from 0 to 20, and R.sub.2 is a moiety selected from the group consisting of (II), (III), (IV), (V), (VI), (VII) or (VIII) where m is an integer from 0 to 4. The surfactant can be used in a method for preparing a rigid polyurethane foam.

##STR00001##

A compound made by copolymerizing a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) chain transfer agent, an acrylate salt, and a polyethylene glycol diacrylate. A compound made by copolymerizing a polyethylene glycol, a glycerol ethoxylate, and an aliphatic diisocyanate.

This disclosure describes micro-, sub-micron, and nano-cellular polymer foams formed from siloxane containing (co)polymers and blends, and systems and methods of formation thereof. The micro, sub-micron, and nano-cellular polymer foam has a density of less than or equal to 300 kg/m.sup.3.

The invention refers to a method for producing expanded polymer pellets, which comprises the following steps: melting a polymer comprising a polyamide; adding at least one blowing agent; expanding the melt through at least one die for producing an expanded polymer; and pelletizing the expanded polymer. The invention further concerns polymer pellets produced with the method as well as their use, e.g. for the production of cushioning elements for sports apparel, such as for producing soles or parts of soles of sports shoes. A further aspect of the invention concerns a method for the manufacture of molded components, comprising loading pellets of an expanded polymer material into a mold, and connecting the pellets by providing heat energy, wherein the expanded polymer material of the pellets or beads comprises a chain extender. The molded components may be used in broad ranges of application.

Disclosed are methods and compositions for forming a flexible, open cell foams which utilize a thermosetting composition comprising one or more components capable of forming a thermoset matrix and a blowing agent comprising at least one chemical blowing agent, such as water, and at least one physical blowing agent includes at least one of HFO-1336mzz, HFO-S1438mzz (preferably E-HFO-1438mzz) and HFO-1447fz, to form a flexible foam.

4-methyl-1-pentene based resin foam containing a 4-methyl-1-pentene based resin, and having an expansion ratio of 3 times or more is prepared. When measured in a decalin solvent at 135° C., an intrinsic viscosity [η] of the 4-methyl-1-pentene based resin may be 0.5 to 5 dl/g. The 4-methyl-1-pentene based resin may have a glass transition temperature of 0° C. to 80° C. The 4-methyl-1-pentene based resin may have a melting point. The 4-methyl-1-pentene based resin may be a 4-methyl-1-pentene/C.sub.2-20α-olefin copolymer (in particular, 4-methyl-1-pentene/C.sub.2-4α-olefin copolymer). The expansion ratio of the 4-methyl-1-pentene based resin foam may be 10 times or greater.

The present invention describes various methods for manufacturing gel composite sheets using segmented fiber or foam reinforcements and gel precursors. Additionally, rigid panels manufactured from the resulting gel composites are also described. The gel composites are relatively flexible enough to be wound and when unwound, can be stretched flat and made into rigid panels using adhesives.

Aerogel compositions, methods for preparing the aerogel compositions, articles of manufacture that include or are made from the aerogel compositions are described and uses thereof. The aerogels include a branched polyimide matrix with little to no crosslinked polymers.

The invention refers to a method for producing expanded polymer pellets, which comprises the following steps: melting a polymer comprising a polyamide; adding at least one blowing agent; expanding the melt through at least one die for producing an expanded polymer; and pelletizing the expanded polymer. The invention further concerns polymer pellets produced with the method as well as their use, e.g. for the production of cushioning elements for sports apparel, such as for producing soles or parts of soles of sports shoes. A further aspect of the invention concerns a method for the manufacture of molded components, comprising loading pellets of an expanded to polymer material into a mold, and connecting the pellets by providing heat energy, wherein the expanded polymer material of the pellets or beads comprises a chain extender. The molded components may be used in broad ranges of application.