Synergistic regulation of foamed structure via covalent crosslinking-2D network: toward KHGB/GO composite membranes with co-stabilized wear resistance, sound absorption, and weatherability for coastal environments

Coastal shallow-water highway surfaces are subjected to composite damage caused by “wave erosion-UV aging-salt fog corrosion.” Existing sound-absorbing materials fail rapidly due to their inability to balance “wear resistance-sound absorption-weather resistance” performance, and there is a lack of systematic research on the synergistic enhancement mechanisms of multiple performance characteristics. This paper proposes a novel multi-level synergistic design strategy combining “covalent cross-linking + two-dimensional network reinforcement + foam structure regulation.” Silane coupling agent (KH550) forms Si-O-Si covalent bonds between hollow glass microspheres (HGB) and the matrix. Combined with the two-dimensional layered network of graphene oxide (GO) to support and constrain foam pores, a KHGB/GO composite membrane with “soft matrix -hard particles-gradient foam pores.” Experimental results indicate that the composite membrane exhibits an abrasion resistance index of 400 (representing a 66.64 % improvement over the unmodified membrane). Furthermore, during 7000 to 9000 friction cycles, its mass loss remained below 0.1 mg-a value lower than the lower limit of precision for the microbalance used in the analysis. The sound absorption coefficient at 5470 Hz reaches 0.9445. After 168 h of salt spray corrosion, the UPF retention rate, tensile strength retention rate, and sound absorption coefficient retention rate were 94 %, 67.71 %, and 89.96 %, respectively, achieving synergistic stability of multiple properties under extreme conditions. This provides an innovative solution for long-term noise reduction in coastal infrastructure.