Composite sepiolite/chitosan layer-by-layer coated flexible polyurethane foams with superior mechanical properties and energy absorption.

[Display omitted] • Design of polyurethane foam composites with naturally abundant sepiolite nanoclay and biopolymer chitosan via simple and facile layer-by-layer coatings. • The coatings reinforce the foam skeleton, resulting in a 200% improvement of the Young's and dynamic moduli compared to untreated foams. • Transmitted impact forces are reduced by 50% with six bilayer coatings, demonstrating an improved impact energy dissipation. • Detailed discussions are provided about the deformation mechanisms and enhancement of the quasi-static and dynamic mechanical performance. Flexible polyurethane foam composites with enhanced stiffness and energy dissipation have been prepared via a facile layer-by-layer assembly approach. The composite foams consisted of naturally abundant nanoclay/chitosan multilayers (up to six) deposited onto the foam struts via dip-coating. The nanoclay/chitosan polyurethane foams were characterised using infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elemental mapping and μ-CT scanning. Quasi-static mechanical compression of the foams with 6 bilayers showed a 202% increase in the stiffness and a 33% enhancement in the damping loss factor compared to the uncoated pristine foam. Vibration transmissibility tests showed that the dynamic modulus of the 6-bilayer coated foams was 3 times that of the pristine foam. Remarkably, impact tests registered a 50% decrease in the transmitted impact force of these sepiolite/chitosan layer-by-layer coated open cell polyurethane foams, demonstrating their improved energy dissipation capability compared to other nanocoated foams in open literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]