Hi kyebean,
Unfortunately there isn’t any specific information that compares the breathability or sleeping temperature of all the hundreds of different types and versions of foam materials (latex foam, polyfoam, and memory foam) and most of the information you will read will only say that a particular foam material is “some” percentage better than a reference material which really doesn’t help much in the bigger picture. It’s very difficult to get these types of specifications in the industry,
Most of the memory foam that is being used today tends to be more breathable and/or temperature neutral than most of the older memory foam formulations and this has been a significant focus in the memory foam side of the industry. There is more about some of the different technologies that are being used to “cool down” memory foam (and other foam materials as well) in post #6 here.
Reticulated foam is a foam material that uses either an ignited gas or a chemical process to reduce or remove the windows in the cell structure of a foam (leaving the thicker cell struts) to improve the airflow through the foam material (see here). Filter foam or outdoor (dri-fast) foam that allows water to easily flow through the foam are examples of highly reticulated foam.
While it’s impossible to be specific on a material by material basis … in very general terms I would consider most latex to be more breathable and temperature neutral than most polyfoams (and Talalay would generally be more breathable than Dunlop) which in turn would be more breathable than most memory foams or gel memory foams.
In addition to this though … a single foam layer in a mattress is only one of many variables that will affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress and in many cases may not even be the most important one.
While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types and combinations of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
Phoenix