A method for preparing an aerogel comprising nano attapulgite and phenolic aldehyde and a method for preparing abrasion-resistant vehicle tire. 80-100 weight distributions of rubber, 3-8 weight distributions of SiO.sub.2.nH.sub.2O, 3-6 weight distributions of an anti-aging agent, 3-4 weight distributions of a heat stabilizer, 3-5 weight distributions of a compatibilizing agent, and 3-12 weight distributions of the aerogel comprising the nano attapulgite and the phenolic aldehyde is selected as a raw material of the abrasion-resistant rubber material to prepare rubber composite material for the abrasion-resistant vehicle tire.

Graphene-modified polymeric foam materials are provided that are amenable to conventional foams to yield articles with superior properties relative to like articles absent the graphene cell modifier. Graphene-based cell modifiers are incorporated in the polymer before or during the foaming process to not only improve the mechanical, thermal, electrical, fire retardant, or barrier properties of the polymer matrix itself, but also help modify the size, density, and morphology of cells in the foam, thereby tailoring the properties of the final foam articles. The graphene-modified polymeric foam materials may be utilized for the manufacturing of articles for mechanical, thermal, noise reduction, or sound absorption applications. The graphene-modified foams and articles made thereof have the advantages higher mechanical strength, better thermal stability, and better sound absorption properties as compared to the conventional polymeric foams such as materials made by copolymer polyol.

An emulsifier-free process for the preparation of water expandable polymer beads, including: a) providing an emulsifier-free starting composition comprising styrene, b) prepolymerizing the starting composition to obtain a prepolymer composition, c) mixing an aqueous blowing agent with the prepolymer composition at an elevated temperature to obtain an inverse emulsion of water droplets in the prepolymer composition, wherein the aqueous blowing agent comprises water and a water soluble initiator dissolved in the water and the water droplets comprise spheres of a styrene polymer, wherein the water soluble initiator partly decomposes due to the elevated temperature leading to the formation of the inverse emulsion of water droplets in the prepolymer composition, d) suspending the inverse emulsion in an aqueous medium to yield an aqueous suspension of suspended droplets and e) polymerizing monomers in the droplets of the suspension obtained by step d) to obtain the water expandable polymer beads.

Compositions and methods for preparing at least partially hollow nanoparticles having an outer shell comprising a one or more molecules and/or residues derived from a metal soap, where the nanoparticles each comprise a continuous inner void space that averages at least 10 percent of the volume of each of the nanoparticles. Such at least partially hollow nanoparticles can be employed in a variety of applications including, but not limited to, tire manufacturing.

Prepare a polymeric foam article having a thermoplastic polymer matrix defining multiple cells therein, wherein the polymeric foam article has the following characteristics: (a) the thermoplastic polymer matrix contains dispersed within it nano-sized nucleating additive particles that have at least two orthogonal dimensions that are less than 30 nanometers in length; (b) possesses at least one of the following two characteristics: (i) has an effective nucleation site density of at least 3×10.sup.14 sites per cubic centimeter of pre-foamed material; and (ii) has an average cell size of 300 nanometers or less; and (c) has a porosity percentage of more than 50 percent by rapidly expanding at a foaming temperature a foamable polymer composition containing the nucleating additive and a blowing agent containing at least one of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon.

A foam formulation for preparing polymer-grafted nanoparticles stabilized foam, including nanoparticles, monomers of a polymer to be grafted on the nanoparticle surface, polymerization initiator, surfactant and water. The polymer-grafted nanoparticles may act together with the surfactant to form single-layer assembling at the boundary of bubbles, which in turn stabilizes the foam. The generated foam shows much better stability in long-term storage, high-temperature drying process and alkaline environments than conventional wet foams. A method of preparing solid porous materials with the foam is also provided.

The present invention provides a gel comprising a physical network formed of polymer chain crystallites interconnected by amorphous chain segments. Functionalization of the chain segments between the crystallites forms a blocky distribution of functionality along the chain whereby the functionalities are concentrated in groups consisting of one or more functionalities, separated by non-functionalized runs of crystallizable segments of the polymer. Removal of the solvent from the gels, without reducing the gel volume, forms an aerogel.

A method for manufacturing semi-conductive polypropylene resin foamed particles of the present invention comprises the steps of: allowing carbon nanotubes to be adsorbed on surfaces of polypropylene resin composition pellets to manufacture carbon nanotube-adsorbed pellets (CNT-PP); and foaming the carbon nanotube-adsorbed pellets (CNT-PP) to form foamed particles.

Provided is a foam sheet including a composition including polylactic acid. The polylactic acid includes, as monomer units, D-lactic acid and L-lactic acid, and an amount of the D-lactic acid or the L-lactic acid in the polylactic acid is 90 mol % or greater but less than 98 mol %. An amount of the polylactic acid is 97% by mass or greater relative to a total amount of organic matter in the foam sheet. When the foam sheet is cut into a square test piece, and the test piece is heated and stored for 90 minutes in a hot air circulation dryer a temperature of which is maintained at 90° C.±2° C., a change rate of an area of the test piece before and after the heat storage is within ±15%. An average thickness of the foam sheet is 0.5 mm or greater.

A bio-resin composition, a bio-resin composite, and a bio-foam material are provided. The bio-resin composition includes a polymer matrix, a toughener, and an antistatic agent. The weight ratio of the polymer matrix to the toughener is between 90:10 and 60:40. Based on the total weight of the polymer matrix and the toughener, the content of the antistatic agent is between 1% and 10%.