Metal Ions Fortified Tannin-Furanic Rigid Foam: The Impact on the Uniformity and Mechanical Performance

Tannin-furanic foams with excellent properties have attracted increasing interest due to their advantages such as easy preparation, light weight, and thermal insulation. However, unsatisfactory mechanical strength has limited the expansion of their applications. Herein, three different metal ions (Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Zn²⁺) were chosen to enhance the properties of tannin-furanic foam prepared by mechanical stirring provoked a foaming approach. The positive effects originating from the complexation are attributed to the associated connection between tannin molecules and metal ions. The results indicated that the apparent performance was improved, resulting in even foam cell structures. The apparent densities for the tannin-furanic foam modified with metal ions were located in the range of 36.57–47.84 kg/m³, showing the feature of lightweight material. The enhanced mechanical strength was verified by the compression strength (0.097–0.163 MPa) and pulverization ratio (7.57–11.01%) of the modified foams, which increased by 56–163% and decreased by 61–73%, respectively, in comparison with tannin-furanic foam without the metal ions. Additionally, the thermal conductivity of the modified tannin-furanic foams was in the range of 0.0443 to 0.0552 W/m·K. This indicates that they inherited the excellent thermal insulation typically associated with tannin-based foams. Interestingly, higher mechanical performance was obtained by comparison with other bio-sourced foams even with similar densities. In summary, by introducing only a small amount of metal ions, the foam performance was greatly improved, with a moderate cost increase, which reflects a good development prospect.