Polymer nanocomposite foams have drawn a great deal of interest in scientific and technological areas. The reason is the combination of the excellent properties of nanoparticles with the foam technology, leading to the development of multifunctional and lightweight materials. These nanocomposite systems can find high performance applications as diverse as scaffolds for tissue engineering, electromagnetic interference shields, multifunctional structural panels and packages, among others.
This Thesis aims to develop flexible and rigid polyurethane nanocomposite foams filled with carbon-based nanofillers with interesting physical properties. The initial part of the work is focused on the synthesis and functionalisation of carbon nanoparticles (multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), functionalised MWCNTs and functionalised graphene sheets (FGS)) to establish the best possible filler to attain the desired properties on the nanocomposite foams. However, the work not only focuses on the effect of nanofillers on the physical properties but also on the process of polymerisation and foaming, since they strongly influence the final characteristics of polyurethane foams. Finally, thermal, mechanical and electrical characterisations were performed in order to confirm the effect of carbon nanoparticles on the properties of polyurethane foams.