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Ice‐Templated Poly(vinyl alcohol): Enhanced Strength and Low Thermal Conductivity
Author(s) -
Voges Kevin,
Hübner Christian,
Vadalá Miriana,
Lupascu Doru C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201800198
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , materials science , thermal conductivity , composite material , polymer , casting , glutaraldehyde , anisotropy , solubility , ultimate tensile strength , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The freeze‐casting technique has been used for a variety of materials to tailor their pore structure. The growing ice crystals act as a template for the subsequent voids present in the body. While it is mostly used for inorganic oxide materials, the method is also applicable to polymers like poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The synthesized materials have an aligned anisotropic pore structure which significantly influences the mechanical behavior and the thermal conductivity. Glutaraldehyde (GA) can be used as a cross‐linking agent to reduce the water solubility of the PVA samples. The composition‐dependent thermal conductivities are measured, and found to be 0.055–0.078 W m −1 K −1 parallel to the freezing direction and 0.048–0.058 W m −1 K −1 in the transverse direction. The scaffold‐like structure resembling the hydroxyapatite structures in bones yields high strength values in the axial direction well exceeding that of common unsupported building insulation materials.