Abstract: In this work, polycarbonate (PC) microcellular foams were prepared by supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) foaming technology. The effects of saturation temperature, saturation pressure, saturation time as well as polycarbonate crystallization induced by scCO2 on foaming beha-vior were systematically studied. PC foams with various expansion ratio were prepared by tuning foaming parameters, and the cell structures were observed by SEM. It was found that not only the foaming parameters of foaming temperature, scCO2 pressure but also scCO2 saturation time affec-ted PC foaming behavior. Moreover, scCO2 saturation time is the main influencing factor to PC foaming behavior. The crystallization behavior of foams was investigated by wide-angle X-ray diffraction. It was indicated that polycarbonate crystallization could be induced at a certain temperature and pressure, and the crystallinity increased with saturation time increasing, which restricts the cell growth. Therefore, a uniform cell structure of PC foams could be obtained at a certain temperature, pressure and saturation time.
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