Open-Pore Foams Modified by Incorporation of New Phases: Multiphase Foams for Thermal, Catalytic and Medical Emerging Applications

Abstract

Recently, open-pore foam materials have acquired great interest in several technological sectors due to their excellent properties of low density, great specific surface area, adjustable thermal conductivity, and high-energy absorption. The replication method has proved to be one of the most widely used techniques for their manufacture, allowing a perfect control of the pores' characteristics from which the main properties of the foams derive. However, these properties have limited the use of these materials in ultimate applications of the most demanding emerging technologies. This chapter reviews recent developments of open-pore foams that have been modified by the incorporation of new phases in order to enhance their properties. The inclusion of new phases taking part of the microstructure or modifying the pore surfaces allows these materials to be considered promising for the most modern applications including, among others, thermal dissipation, catalytic supports, and medical implantology.