Owens Corning Intellectual Capital, LLC

Joseph P Rynd

Roland R Loh

Mark E Polasky

Raymond Marshall Breindel

Yadollah Delaviz

Xiangmin Han

Kurt W Koelling

James L Lee

Yadolah Delaviz

Raymond M Briendel

Rigid foam insulating products and processes for making such insulation products are disclosed. The foam products are formed from a polymer, a blowing agent, and nano-graphite. The nano-graphite has a size in at least one dimension less than about 100 nm and, in exemplary embodiments may be an intercalated, expanded nano-graphite. In addition, the nano-graphite may include a plurality of nanosheets having a thickness between about 10 to about 100 nanometers. The nano-graphite acts as a process additive to improve the physical properties of the foam product, such as thermal insulation and compressive strength. In addition, the nano-graphite in the foam controls cell morphology and acts as a nucleating agent in the foaming process. Further, the nano-graphite exhibits overall compound effects on foam properties including improved insulating value (increased R-value) for a given thickness and density and improved ultraviolet (UV) stability.

Thermoplastic foams and method of forming them using nano-graphite

A process for making closed-cell, alkenyl aromatic polymer foams using nano-particle nucleation agents to control the cell morphology of the resulting foam includes forming a polymer melt at a temperature above the polymer glass transition temperature (for crystal polymers) or the polymer melt point (for amorphous polymers); incorporating selected nano-particles into the polymer melt; incorporating blowing agents into the polymer melt at an elevated pressure; optionally incorporating other additives, such as flame retardants, into the polymer melt; and extruding the polymer melt under conditions sufficient to produce a foam product having a desired cell morphology, characterized by parameters such as reduced average cell size range and/or increased asymmetry of the cells.

Method of forming thermoplastic foams using nano-particles to control cell morphology

This invention relates to foam insulating products, particularly extruded polystyrene foam, containing multi-layered nano-graphite as a process additive for improving the physical properties of foam products.

Polymer foams containing multi-functional layered nano-graphite

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Stow, OH, United States of America

Joseph P Rynd