Preparation of Carbon Fiber and Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Poly (butylene Adipate-co-terephthalate) Foams by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Foaming.

Fiber-reinforced polymer foams have found extensive applications across numerous fields. Particularly, poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) has garnered significant attention in the field of biodegradable materials due to its exceptional processing properties, mechanical performance, and biocompatibility. However, the high shrinkage rate of pure PBAT foam limits its application. Among the various materials capable of enhancing foam performance, carbon fiber (CF) and bamboo fiber (BF) exhibit unique advantages. This study employed supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) foaming technology to successfully prepare PBAT/CF/BF foams. The results demonstrate that the synergistic effect of CF and BF significantly improves the anti-shrinkage properties of PBAT foam. Compared to pure PBAT foam, the shrinkage rate of PBAT/15CF/5BF foam decreased from 55.63% to 6.92%, a reduction of 87.56%. PBAT/10CF/10BF foam achieved the lowest density of 0.13 g/cm3, representing a 31.58% decrease. PBAT/10CF/10BF foam exhibited the highest expansion ratio of 9.43, an increase of 51.36%. Compression resilience tests revealed that all PBAT/CF/BF foams displayed favorable compression resilience, with PBAT/15CF/5BF foam demonstrating the highest compressive strength of 0.26 MPa. This research provides an effective solution for fabricating fiber-reinforced biodegradable polyester foams. Those foams have anti-shrinkage properties, lightweight characteristics, and excellent resilience.