Isocyanate allophanate

The water reaction evolves carbon dioxide and is to be avoided with solid elastomers but is important in the manufacture of foams. These reactions cause chain extension and by the formation of urea and urethane linkages they provide sites for cross-linking, since these groups can react with free isocyanate or terminal isocyanate groups to form biuret or allophanate linkages respectively (Figure 27.5). 

The allophanate linkage is formed by the reaction of urethane with isocyanate, as shown in the fourth item of Fig. 1 [7], Isocyanates can react with many active hydrogen compounds. The active hydrogen of the urethane linkage is not very reactive, but if reaction temperatures get high enough (usually in excess of 100°C), or in the presence of certain allophanate catalysts, this reaction can actually become favored over the urethane reaction (see pp. 180-188 in [6]). 

In most cases, the allophanate reaction is an undesirable side reaction that can cause problems, such as high-viscosity urethane prepolymers, lower pot lives of curing hot-melt adhesives, or poor shelf lives of certain urethane adhesives. The allophanate reaction may, however, produce some benefits in urethane structural adhesives, e.g., additional crosslinking, additional modulus, and resistance to creep. The same may be said about the biuret reaction, i.e., the reaction product of a substituted urea linkage with isocyanate. The allophanate and biuret linkages are not usually as thermally stable as urethane linkages [8]. 

Lastly, of course, the main reaction of interest is the formation of urethane groups by reaction of isocyanate groups and hydroxy-groups of the polyester or polyether. Even these reactions do not exhaust the possibilities available to the highly reactive isocyanate group. It will then go on to react with the urethane links to form a structure known as an allophanate (see Reaction 4.13). 

Carbamates (substituted urethanes) are prepared when isocyanates are treated with alcohols. This is an excellent reaction, of wide scope, and gives good yields. Isocyanic acid HNCO gives unsubstituted carbamates. Addition of a second mole of HNCO gives allophanates. 

Examples of non-urethane linkages derived from isocyanates a) urea, b) urea, c) biuret, d) amide, and e) allophanate... 

One can observe positive deviations in the region of rH < 1 (excess of isocyanate groups) which are due to side reactions (allophanate, urea and biuret groups). In the region of rH > 1 the agreement of wg values is good. In the case of i e, the predicted curves depend not only on the results of the branching theory but also... 

The situation is even more complex since the N—H bonds of both urethane and urea linkages add to isocyanate groups to form allophanate and biuret linkages, respectively. These... 

With excess isocyanic acid, stable allophanates are formed (see Cyanuric AND ISOCYANURIC ACIDS). 

The above processes are only selected examples of a vast number of process options. In the case of carbonylation, the formation of by-products, primarily isocyanate oligomers, allophanates, and carbodiimides, is difficult to control and is found to greatly reduce the yield of the desired isocyanate. Thus a number of nonphosgene processes have been extensively evaluated in pilot-plant operations, but none have been scaled up to commercial production of diisocyanates primarily due to process economics with respect to the existing amine—phosgene route. Key factors preventing large-scale commercialization include the overall reaction rates and the problems associated with catalyst recovery and recycle. 

With an excess isocyanate in the above systems, allophanate and biuret reactions take place (Eqs (2.25) and (2.26)), resulting in further cross-linking. When increased rigidity and high-temperature performance are desired, further crosslinking may be accomplished via isocyanurate formation (Eq. (2.29)). Base catalysts such as alkoxides, quaternary ammonium or phosphonium, etc., promote this reaction. Aromatic isocyanates give iso-cyanurates far more easily than aliphatic ones. 

Figure 2.40 illustrates the formation of an allophanate bond formed between an isocyanate group and a urethane group. 

Subsidiary chemical reactions can take place. The major of these is the formation of an allophanate cross-link, as illustrated in Figure 2.6. This reaction normally needs a temperature of between 120 and 140°C to take place. The presence of a urea group at 100°C can react with the isocyanate group to form a biuret linkage. This is shown in Figure 2.7. 

Other reactions which lead to branching and cross-linking are the formation of allophanate and biuret linkages. The allophanate linkages occurs when the hydrogen on the nitrogen atom of the urethane group reacts with an isocyanate ... 

The isocyanate (2270 cm"1) uretedinedione ring carbonyl (1780 cm"1) and urea carbonyl (1660 cm"1) groups can usually be identified. Carbonyls from ester, urethane, allophanate, isocyanuric acid ring and Biuret groups all absorb near 1730 cm 1 and are difficult to distinguish. Hydrogen bonds which can function as physical crosslinks in PU have been... 

In the majority of cases the addition product is stable, but in some special cases it is only moderately stable and may either dissociate to form the initial reactants again or decompose to other products. Secondary reactions of isocyanates that are important in the formation of urethane polymers are those with urea and urethanes. These reactions result in the formation of biuret and allophanate, respectively (Figure 2.19). The relative reaction rates of active-hydrogen-bearing compounds with isocyanate are given in Table 2.7. 

Allophanate An unsaturated nitrogenous product made by reaction of an alcohol with two moles of isocyanic acid (a gas). 

There are a few other chemical reactions on the wood surface that could make important contributions. One is that of moisture on the surface of wood to form an unstable carbamic acid group that quickly decomposes to form a primary amine with evolution of carbon dioxide. The primary amine formed has active hydrogens reactive to isocyanate. Other successive reactions ensue leading first to disub-stituted ureas and then to biurets. Furthermore, isocyanate reaction with urethane to form allophanates, and trimerization of isocyanates to form isocyanurate are also possible to variable extents, under the conditions of bonding. The different reactions are summarized in Scheme 2. 

Scheme 2. Typical reactions of isocyanates leading to the formation of substituted carhamic acid fXIIj, stihstituted urea fXIIIj, biuret ("XIV allophanate fXV), and isocyanurate fXVl).

A special technique of trimerization has been described by Kogon 24, 25). Phenyl isocyanate reacts with ethyl alcohol to form a urethane (ethyl carbanilate). At 125° a substantial yield of ethyl a,7-diphenyl allophanate is observed as well as a small amount of phenyl isocyanate dimer. However, when A-methyhnorpholine (NMM) is added as a catalyst, the reaction is altered and the product is triphenylisocyanurate (isocyanate trimer) in high yield. The reaction sequence is believed to be ... 

Thus, as shown in detailed studies of the trimer, two isocyanate molecules are supplied by the dimer, and the third by the isocyanate portion of the allophanate. This mechanism applies specifically for the trimerization reaction of an isocyanate carried out in the presence of a tertiary amine catalyst and either an alcohol or a urethane. 

Diaryl allophantes as indicated by the above equation have been prepared with R = H, 0-CH3, p-Cl, p-CH R = H, p-CHs, m-OCHa R" = CjHs, CeHs. The allophanate formation fails to occur if the carbanil-ate or the aryl isocyanate is replaced by ethyl carbamate or by ethyl isocyanate, respectively. 

Allophanales. The chief use for isocyanic aciU is for the conversion of primary, secondary, or tertiary alcohols into crystalline allophanates. Depolymerization of cyanuric acid can be done at 360-400° in a slow stream of carbon dioxide and the... 

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