A syntactic foam is a composite material that is made by filling a polymer, ceramic, or metal with pre-formed hollow glass or ceramic spheres called micro balloons. The term ‘syntactic’ refers to the ordered arrangement of the spheres, and the term ‘foam’ refers to the closed cellular structure. Syntactic Foam Properties The hollow spheres within syntactic foam provide most of the materials beneficial properties. They have high specific strength, a low coefficient of thermal expansion, [...]

A polymer is defined as a large network of molecules that consist of many repeat units. A polyimide is a specific type of polymer, consisting of imide monomers. Polyimides are highly desirable for their heat resistance, mechanical strength, and insulative properties. What is an Imide? To obtain a good understanding of what a polyimide is, first we have to understand the chemistry within it. An imide is a functional group consisting of two acyl groups [...]