The mechanical and thermal insulating properties of resin-derived carbon foams reinforced by K2Ti6O13 whiskers

Reinforced carbon foam materials were produced with phenolic resole resin as precursor and K2Ti6O13 whiskers as additives. Effects of the content of whiskers on microstructure, compressive strength and thermal properties of carbon foams were investigated. The results showed that the carbon foams had a spherical and closed cell structure, and the distribution of cells was relatively uniform. The specimens with less than 4 wt% K2Ti6O13 whiskers exhibited a higher compressive strength than neat foams. When the content exceeded 4 wt%, the irregular openings on the cell walls revealed in microstructure images led to decrease in compressive strength. The thermal conductivity went down with increasing the content of whiskers as expected, which ranged from 0.24 to 0.40 W m−1 K−1 at room temperature.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ Reinforced carbon foam materials were produced with phenolic resole resin as precursor and K2Ti6O13 whiskers as additives. ▶ The compressive strength of carbon foam samples with 2 wt% K2Ti6O13 whiskers was 7.43 MPa, which increased by 86% compared with plain carbon foams. ▶ The thermal conductivity of carbon foams with 4 wt% K2Ti6O13 whiskers was 0.24 W m−1 K−1 at room temperature, which was lowered by 39% in comparison with neat foams.