Controlled polymer foaming using a hybrid nucleating agent formed from a mineral and an organic nucleating agent

1. A process of producing a polymer foam, the process comprising foaming a polymer in the presence of a hybrid nucleating agent, wherein the hybrid nucleating agent comprises an inorganic material and an organic nucleating agent coating at least a portion of the inorganic material;

wherein the organic nucleating agent is at least one selected from the group consisting of aluminum dibenzoate, barium benzoate, barium stearate, benzylidene sorbitol, a derivative of benzylidene sorbitol, calcium benzoate, calcium montanate, calcium myristate, calcium octacosanoate, calcium oxalate, calcium stearate, erucic acid amide, ethylene bis-lauric acid amide, hydroxystearic acid amide, lithium benzoate, lithium dibenzoate, lithium stearate, lithium terephthalate, magnesium benzoate, magnesium stearate, 2,2-methylbis(4,6-di-tbutylphenyl)sodium, palmitic acid amide, potassium benzoate, potassium dibenzoate, potassium laurate, potassium myristate, potassium salicylate, potassium stearate, potassium terephthalate, sodium benzoate, sodium cyclohexane carboxylate, sodium laurate, sodium-2,2′-methylenebis(4,6-di-t-butylphenyl) phosphate, sodium montanate, sodium myristate, sodium βnaphthalate, sodium octacosanoate, sodium salicylate, sodium sulfoisophthalate, sodium stearate, sodium terephthalate, sodium p-toluene sulfonate, sodium toluoylate, stearic acid amide, tris(t-butylamide) trimesate and zinc salicylate.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material is at least one selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide, a metal silicate, a metal sulfate, a metal carbonate, an metal oxosulfate, a metal phosphate and a metal phosphonate.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material is at least one selected from the group consisting of a kaolin, a bentonite, a chloritic talc, a milled expanded perlite, a diatomite, a talc, a mica, a wollastonite, a titania and a silica.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a thermoplastic polymer or a thermoset polymer.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polymer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin, a polyamide, a polycarbonate, a polyurethane, a polyester, a polyacrylate, and copolymers and blends thereof.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polymer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a polystyrene, a polyethylene, a polystyrene, a polyamide, a polyurethane, a poly(ethyl vinyl acetate), a polyethylene terephthalate, and copolymers and blends thereof.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the foaming occurs in the presence of a chemical or physical blowing agent.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the foaming occurs in the presence of a blowing agent is selected from the group consisting of water, an inert gas, carbon dioxide, and an organic gas.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the hybrid nucleating agent is obtained by evaporating a dispersion of the organic nucleating agent and the inorganic material in a dispersion medium comprising at least two solvents.

10. The process of claim 9 , wherein the dispersion medium is an aqueous dispersion medium comprising at least one organic solvent, such that a ratio of water to the at least one organic solvent ranges from 0.1:99.9 to 99.9:01.

11. The process of claim 1 , further comprising:

melt-mixing the hybrid nucleating agent with the polymer, and extruding a resulting mixture to obtain a polymer-nucleating agent composite; and

foaming the polymer-nucleating agent composite with a physical blowing agent to obtain a polymer foam.

12. The process of claim 11 , wherein the polymer foam has a cell density (N f ) of equal to or greater than about 1.5E+09 cells/cm 3 , based on a volume of the polymer foam.

13. The process of claim 11 , wherein the polymer foam has an average cell diameter (φ) of less than or equal to about 6.0 μm.

14. A foamed product obtained by the process of claim 1 .

15. The foamed product of claim 14 , wherein the foamed product has a cell density (N f ) of equal to or greater than about 1.5E+09 cells/cm 3 , based on a volume of the foamed product.

16. The foamed product of claim 14 , wherein the foamed product has an average cell diameter (φ) of less than or equal to about 6.0 μm.

17. The process of claim 1 , further comprising forming the hybrid nucleating agent by:

dispersing the organic nucleating agent in a dispersing medium to obtain an additive dispersion, and

contacting the additive dispersion with the inorganic material, wherein the inorganic material comprises a mineral nucleating agent, to obtain the hybrid nucleating agent, such that the organic nucleating agent is localized on at least a portion of a surface of the mineral nucleating agent.

18. A process of producing a polymer foam, the process comprising foaming a polymer in the presence of a hybrid nucleating agent, wherein the hybrid nucleating agent comprises an inorganic material and an organic nucleating agent coating at least a portion of the inorganic material, wherein the process further comprises forming the hybrid nucleating agent by:

dispersing an organic nucleating agent in a dispersing medium to obtain an additive dispersion, and

contacting the additive dispersion with a mineral nucleating agent to obtain the hybrid nucleating agent, such that the organic nucleating agent is localized on at least a portion of a surface of the mineral nucleating agent

wherein a mass ratio of the organic nucleating agent to the mineral nucleating agent ranges from about 0.1:99.9 to about 10:90.

19. A process of producing a polymer foam, the process comprising foaming a polymer in the presence of a hybrid nucleating agent, wherein the hybrid nucleating agent comprises wollastonite and an organic nucleating agent coating at least a portion of the wollastonite.

20. The process of claim 1 , wherein the foaming occurs in the presence of a chemical or physical blowing agent.