The Influence of Graphene Oxide and Carbon Nanotubes on the Acoustic and Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Plant‐Based Polyurethane Foam

ABSTRACT Polyurethane foam (PUF) as an acoustic material has been in the spotlight in recent years as noise pollution is on the increase. There have been numerous studies on environmentally friendly plant‐based polyurethane materials. In this paper, the research focuses on the preparation of environmentally friendly PUFs by blending rosin polyol and castor oil at room temperature and pressure. The comprehensive properties of PUFs were improved by adding carbon nanotubes (CNTs) fillers and impregnating graphene oxide (GO) aqueous solutions. The microstructure, acoustic and mechanical properties of PUFs were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), impedance tube, and universal torsion tester. The results showed that the combination of rosin polyol and castor oil resulted in a substantial number of small‐sized cells in PUFs. CNTs functioned as nucleating agents, thereby reducing the size of the cells. Attached around the skeleton, GO increased the complexity of PUFs. The prepared PUFs exhibited better mechanical and acoustic properties. Among the fabricated samples, HCG2‐PUF demonstrates the optimal comprehensive performance. In comparison with the control group (H‐PUF), HCG2‐PUF achieves an 18.5% enhancement in relative bearing capacity, a 3.57% improvement in average sound absorption coefficient over the full frequency range, and a maximum sound insulation value of 43.064 dB.