A scientometric review of polymer foam for core sandwich composites: Trends, networks, and prospects

Polymer foams are increasingly used in sandwich composites to achieve a high stiffness-to-weight ratio. This study scientifically investigates polymer foam cores for sandwich composites from 1966 to 2024. Using 2220 articles (426 sources) from Scopus, Bibliometrix (Biblioshiny), and VOSviewer, the publication dynamics were measured, networks between sources, authors, and countries were mapped, and the co-occurrence of keywords was determined. This area is growing rapidly (9.51% per year; 29.82 citations/article) and can be divided into three phases: Beginning (1966–1996), Developing (1997–2011), and Booming (2012–2024), with a shift in topics from basic mechanics to interfacial engineering, impact behavior, and multifunctionality. Composite Structures have emerged as the main source, with China and the United States dominating, while international collaboration remains low (20.14%). The material landscape and manufacturing routes demonstrated the applications of polymer foam in insulation, structural components, and energy absorption. The keyword analysis revealed that bio-based and sustainable applications strengthen niche markets. The proposed roadmap for the future recommends prioritizing leading journals, partnering with high-performing groups, and focusing on recyclable thermoplastics and sustainability-oriented studies, accompanied by transparent numerical validation and life cycle analysis.