Prepolymers applications

For convenience of application it is usual to utilise the two-stage preparation shown above. Initially the soluble polymer (I) is formed which is then converted into the insoluble thermally stable polyimide (II) Figure 18.35). Suitable solvents for the high molecular weight prepolymer (I) include dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide. 

Both TDI/MOCA and MDI/diol prepolymer systems are of importance for harder grades of printer s rollers and the wear-resisting applications such as pipes, pumps and impellers used in the mining and quarrying industries. 

A wide range of polyurethane-type products has become available in recent years for coating applications. These include simple solutions of linear polyurethanes, two-pot alkyd-isocyanate and polyether-isocyanate systems and a variety of prepolymer and adduct systems. The coatings can vary considerably in hardness and flexibility and find use mainly because of their toughness, abrasion resistance and flexibility. Uses include metal finishes in chemical plant, wood finishes for boats and sports equipment, finishes for rubber goods and rain-erosion-resistant coatings for aircraft. One type of coating is potentially competitive with PVC leathercloth. Both alkyd-di-isocyanate and adduct-diisocyanate compositions may be coated on to fabrics from solutions of controlled viscosity and solids content. Such coated fabrics are soft, flexible and, unlike PVC leathercloth, free from plasticisers. 

The first urethane reaction in Fig. 1 is used in two major ways in adhesives. In one case, a two-component adhesive usually employs a polyol and polyisocyanate with catalyst. This can react at room temperature to form the polyurethane. The second use of this reaction is to make an isocyanate-terminated prepolymer. Reacting a stoichiometric excess of isocyanate with polyol can produce an isocyanate-terminated prepolymer. A prepolymer is often made with an NCO/OH ratio of 2.0, as shown below, but the isocyanate ratio can range from 1.4 to over 8.0, depending upon the application ... 

A variety of applications exist for liquid, 100% solid adhesives, (An adhesive is considered 100% solid if there is no solvent in the adhesive.) Some of the largest uses include structural wood adhesives and adhesives used for the transportation industry, such as windshield adhesives and those used for bonding composite sidewalls of a recreational vehicle (RV). Structural wood adhesives are often made of a polymeric MDI with functionality of approximately 2.7 or higher. Rigid assemblies often utilize polymeric MDI, whereas flexible adhesive assemblies will more often utilize pure MDI, a solid waxy material that melts at around 37°C, or a modified MDI , i.e., MDI that has been modified to make it a liquid at room temperature. Prepolymers are made with ratios of anywhere from NCO/OH = 1.6 to 3.0 or higher. 

Most moisture-curing liquid adhesives utilize poly(oxypropylene) (PPG) polyols, as shown above. These raw materials produce among the lowest-viscosity prepolymers but may not have sufficient modulus at higher temperatures for some applications. A certain percentage of polyester polyols may also be utilized to boost performance, but these may cause a large increase in viscosity, and so they are more often used in conjunction with polyether polyols to provide a high-performance adhesive with workable viscosities. Poly(butadiene) polyols may be utilized for specific adhesion characteristics. 

The ketimine is an acetone-blocked diamine. The synthesis and applications of ketimines will be discussed later. The curing concept for the adhesive is shown in Fig. 7. Phenol-blocked prepolymers would normally unblock at approximately 150°C. However, an aliphatic diamine, generated by the hydrolysis of the ketimine to an aliphatic diamine and ketone as a result of exposure to the moisture in the air, is sufficient to cure the windshield adhesive at room temperature. 

The full-prepolymer, quasi-prepolymer, and one-shot techniques may appear to be quite similar, but they each have important bearing on equipment requirements and physical properties. The full-prepolymer method, for example, is die process of choice for making high-performance cast elastomers with superb dynamic properties, such as industrial bumpers and bushings. Quasi-prepolymers are used in less demanding applications like shoe soles, adhesives, and spray elastomers. One-shots make up the rest, including most foams and elastomers. 

Wang and coworkers first reported the use of these monomers as a novel elastomeric material for potential application in soft tissue engineering in 2002. The molar ratio of glycerol to sebacic acid they used was 1 1. The equimolar amounts of the two monomers were synthesized by polycondensation at 120°C for three days. The reaction scheme is shown in Scheme 8.1. To obtain the elastomers, they first synthesized a prepolymer and then poured an anhydrous 1,3-dioxolane solution of the prepolymer into a mold for curing and shaping under a high vacuum. 

Figures 2 and 5 show the increase of the mass average molar mass, R i, with conversion for the systems with branched and linear prepolymers, respectively. These results indicate that addition of the branching monomer in the first stage yields much higher values of R, and the gel point is reached at lower conversion than addition in the third stage. Translated into practical properties this means that the processing and application qualities (e.g. flow) of a paint based on formulation F40 will be inferior to those of one on the basis of for-...

The predominant RO membranes used in water applications include cellulose polymers, thin film oomposites (TFCs) consisting of aromatic polyamides, and crosslinked polyetherurea. Cellulosic membranes are formed by immersion casting of 30 to 40 percent polymer lacquers on a web immersed in water. These lacquers include cellulose acetate, triacetate, and acetate-butyrate. TFCs are formed by interfacial polymerization that involves coating a microporous membrane substrate with an aqueous prepolymer solution and immersing in a water-immiscible solvent containing a reactant [Petersen, J. Memhr. Sol., 83, 81 (1993)]. The Dow FilmTec FT-30 membrane developed by Cadotte uses 1-3 diaminobenzene prepolymer crosslinked with 1-3 and 1-4 benzenedicarboxylic acid chlorides. These membranes have NaCl retention and water permeability claims. 

Although cSFC shows relatively poor figures of merit (speed, sensitivity, detection dynamic range and sample capacity) as well as a limited application area, its applications tend to be unique. These include solutes that can be solvated with pure SCCO2 and quantified with FID. Linear density programs typical in cSFC are ideal for homologous series found in surfactants, many prepolymers, etc. Selectivity in cSFC, which can be achieved by mobile phase density and temperature programming, relies on selective interactions with the stationary phase. Quantitative analysis in cSFC may be rendered difficult by small injected volumes the use of internal standards is recommended. 

Applications Van der Maeden et al. [646] first used GE-HPLC for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of oligomeric mixtures, such as low-MW resins (epoxy up to 16-mer, o-cresol novolak up to 16-mer, p-cresol novolak up to 13-mer), prepolymers (poly-(2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide) up to 20-mer), PET (up to 14-mer) and ethoxylated octaphenol surfactants (up to 19-mer). In many GE-HPLC separations of oligomeric mixtures, a compromise has to be found between sample loading, injection volume and compatibility of the sample solvent and the initial phase system. Therefore,... 

These subgel prepolymers have been manufactured by industry for some time and used in two-component adhesives or coating materials. For one-component materials, storage below the actual Tg, whenever applicable, is the most efficient method for blocking the reactivities. This kind of blocking is used in powder coatings. 

The SSP process is obviously limited by the melting point of the prepolymer and the equilibrium temperature of the polymer process. The SSP reaction becomes too slow at temperatures below 190 °C in commercial processing. Temperatures below this level are only of scientific interest or applicable in the case of thermally sensitive polyesters. The increase in IV for the most common polyesters decreases in relation to the glycolic component, as shown in Figure 5.15 however, this figure does not show the behavior of cyclohexane dimethanol (CHDM) and PEN [30],... 

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