Preparation and properties of polyimide/chopped carbon fiber composite foams

In this study, a series of reinforced polyimide (PI)/carbon fiber (CF) composite foams were fabricated through thermal foaming of polyester ammonium salt (PEAS) precursor powders. The PEAS precursor powders containing different contents of chopped CF were synthesized from benzophenone‐3,3′,4,4′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether (ODA). The effects of different CF loadings on foaming behavior of PEAS/CF composite precursor powders, final cellular morphology, and physical properties of PI composite foams were investigated. The results revealed that the chopped CF acted as nucleation agent in the foaming process. The dispersion of CF can be evaluated using digital microscope. It is interesting to find that the chopped CF were highly oriented along the direction of cell arrises. As a result, the mechanical properties of PI foams were significantly enhanced owing to the incorporation of chopped CF. Furthermore, the thermal stability of PI composite foams were also slightly improved owing to fine dispersion of CF. In addition, the PI/CF composite foam shows uniform cell size distribution and the best comprehensive physical properties as chopped CF loading at around 6 wt%. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.