Polyol hydroxyl groups

Figure 4 Reaction of polyol hydroxyl group with isocyanate group to form a urethane. Copyright 2003 by Taylor Francis Group, LLC...

Some commercial polyurethane elastomers are in fact segmented copolymers prepared by reaction of a diisocyanate with a prepolymer polyol (hydroxyl group functionality 2) and a short-chain diol (e.g. butan-l,4-diol)... 

To completely react the components, it is important to match the number of polyol hydroxyl groups with that of the isocyanate. For polyols, a specific number of functional OH groups, F(OH)/kg, is estimated according to ... 

Commonly used isocyanates are toluene dhsocyanate, methylene diphenyl isocyanate, and polymeric isocyanates. Polyols used are macroglycols based on either polyester or polyether. The former [poly(ethylene phthalate) or poly(ethylene 1,6-hexanedioate)] have hydroxyl groups that are free to react with the isocyanate. Most flexible foam is made from 80/20 toluene dhsocyanate (which refers to the ratio of 2,4-toluene dhsocyanate to 2,6-toluene dhsocyanate). High-resilience foam contains about 80% 80/20 toluene dhsocyanate and 20% poly(methylene diphenyl isocyanate), while semi-flexible foam is almost always 100% poly(methylene diphenyl isocyanate). Much of the latter reacts by trimerization to form isocyanurate rings. 

Humectants. In certain foods, it is necessary to control the amount of water that enters or exits the product. It is for this purpose that humectants are employed. Polyhydric alcohols (polyols), which include propylene glycol [57-55-6], C2Hg02, glycerol [56-81-5], C HgO, sorbitol [50-70-4], and mannitol [69-65-8], contain numerous hydroxyl groups (see Alcohols,polyhydric). Their stmcture makes them hydrophilic and... 

Polyol Esters. Polyol esters are formed by the reaction of an alcohol having two or more hydroxyl groups, eg, a polyhydric alcohol and a monobasic acid. In contrast to the diesters, the polyol in the polyol esters forms the backbone of the stmcture and the acid radicals are attached to it. The physical properties maybe varied by using different polyols or acids. Trimethylolpropane [77-99-6] C H O, and pentaerythritol [115-77-5] are... 

Polyols. Analogous to the use of linear a,C0-dibasic acids, such as adipic and sebacic, polyols with long, flexible chains between hydroxyl groups, such as 1,4-butanediol [110-63-4] 1,6-hexanediol [629-11-8J, and diethylene glycol [111-46-6] may also be used to impart greater flexibiUty ia the resia. 

Ammonia, and Amines. Isopropanolamine is the product of propylene oxide and ammonia ia the presence of water (see Alkanolamines). Propylene oxide reacts with isopropanolamine or other primary or secondary amines to produce A/- and A/,A/-disubstituted isopropanolamines. Propylene oxide further reacts with the hydroxyl group of the alkanolamines to form polyether polyol derivatives of tertiary amines (50), or of secondary amines ia the presence of a strong base catalyst (51). 

Reaction of olefin oxides (epoxides) to produce poly(oxyalkylene) ether derivatives is the etherification of polyols of greatest commercial importance. Epoxides used include ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, and epichl orohydrin. The products of oxyalkylation have the same number of hydroxyl groups per mole as the starting polyol. Examples include the poly(oxypropylene) ethers of sorbitol (130) and lactitol (131), usually formed in the presence of an alkaline catalyst such as potassium hydroxide. Reaction of epichl orohydrin and isosorbide leads to the bisglycidyl ether (132). A polysubstituted carboxyethyl ether of mannitol has been obtained by the interaction of mannitol with acrylonitrile followed by hydrolysis of the intermediate cyanoethyl ether (133). 

Carboxylic Acid Esters. In the carboxyflc acid ester series of surfactants, the hydrophobe, a naturally occurring fatty acid, is solubilized with the hydroxyl groups of polyols or the ether and terminal hydroxyl groups of ethylene oxide chains. 

The epoxidation is generally conducted in two steps (/) the polyol is added to epichlorohydrin in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst (stannic chloride, boron triduoride) to produce the chlorohydrin intermediate, and (2) the intermediate is dehydrohalogenated with sodium hydroxide to yield the aliphatic glycidyl ether. A prominent side-reaction is the conversion of aliphatic hydroxyl groups (formed by the initial reaction) into chloromethyl groups by epichlorohydrin. The aliphatic glycidyl ether resins are used as flexibilizers for aromatic resins and as reactive diluents to reduce viscosities in resin systems. 

Both polyethers and polyesters may be used as polyols. For example, Du Pont use polytetrahydrofuran for Lycra whilst US Rubber originally used a polyester of molecular mass of about 2000 obtained by condensing adipic acid with a mixture of ethylene and propylene glycols. A polyether-based mixture was used for Vyrene 2 introduced in 1967. All the polyols have terminal hydroxyl groups. 

Polyurethane foams may be rigid, semi-rigid or flexible. They may be made from polyesters, polyethers or natural polyols such as castor oil (which contains approximately three hydroxyl groups in each molecule). Three general processes are available known as one-shot, prepolymer or quasi-prepolymer processes. These variations lead to 27 basic types of product or process, all of which have been used commercially. This section deals only with flexible foams (which are made only from polyesters and polyethers). Since prepolymers and... 

The flexible foams discussed in the previous section have polymer stmctures with a low degree of cross-linking. If polyols of higher functionality, i.e. more hydroxyl groups per molecule, are used, tougher products may be obtained and in the case of material with a sufficiently high functionality rigid foams will result. 

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