In this work, biaxially stretched polymer foams with well‐defined cellular structures were prepared from polyethylene via blown‐film extrusion and subjected to corona charging to produce a piezoelectric response. The charging parameters were first optimized in terms of charging voltage and needle distance, as well as the gas type and pressure to investigate their effect on the piezoelectric coefficient (d33). The results show that samples charged under nitrogen (N2) at 100 kPa had better d33 coefficient than those charged under ambient air or N2 at 20 kPa. Moreover, 2 different thermal pressure treatments were imposed to obtain an optimized eye‐like cellular structure with different cell aspect ratios (AR). The results showed that when the cells were elongated in both the longitudinal and transverse directions (higher AR), higher d33 coefficients were achieved. From all the samples produced, the best results were obtained for a longitudinal aspect ratio (AR‐L) of 7.1, a transversal aspect ratio (AR‐T) of 4.6, and a relative foam density of 0.52 leading to a d33 coefficient of 935 pC/N. This coefficient was further increased using reverse charging and multilayered films, reaching a maximum of 2550 pC/N. This value is much higher than typical ones reported so far for any polyethylene and polypropylene ferroelectrets. These results could increase the use of polyethylene in piezoelectric applications as these materials are very attractive for the large‐scale production of electret‐based sensors and transducers due to their low cost and easy processing.

Cellular polymers, such as polyethylene foams, are commonly used in the packaging industry. These materials have short service life and generate a high volume of waste after use. In order to valorize this waste and produce added‐value applications, it is proposed to convert these materials into highly efficient energy absorption structures. This was done by modifying the original cellular morphology of the foams (spheroidal or polygonal) into a re‐entrant structure to produce auxetic materials. This work presents an optimized process combining mechanical compression and solvent vapor evaporation‐condensation leading to low density foams (77–200 kg/m3) having negative Poisson's ratios (NPR). Three series of recycled low density polyethylene (LDPE) foams with an initial density of 16, 21, and 36 kg/m3 were used to optimize the processing conditions in terms of treatment temperature, time, and pressure. From all the samples prepared, a minimum Poisson's ratio of −3.5 was obtained. To further characterize the samples, the final foam structure was analyzed to relate with mechanical properties and compare with conventional foams having positive Poisson's ratios. The results are discussed using tensile properties and energy dissipation which were shown to be highly improved for auxetic foams. Overall, the resulting foams can be used in several applications such as sport and military protection equipment.

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This work presents the production of cellular polymer films using extrusion blowing to impose biaxial stretching on the cellular structure while processing. The materials selected are linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) as the matrix, azodicarbonamide as the chemical blowing agent, and talc as the nucleating agent. The processing parameters, namely, the temperature profile, screw speed, feed rate, take-up ratio, blow-up ratio, and the matrix composition were all optimized to produce a homogeneous cellular structure with defined morphologies. The optimized films had a thickness below 300 µm, a relative density around 0.6, a cell density above 2 × 106 cells/cm3, and biaxially stretched cells with aspect ratios above 4 longitudinally and 3.8 transversally.

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