Open Access

ARTICLE

Linseed Oil-Based Polyurethane Rigid Foams: Synthesis and Characterization

Tamara Calvo-Correas¹, Mirna A. Mosiewicki², M. Angeles Corcuera¹, Arantxa Eceiza¹, Mirta I. Aranguren^2,*

1 Materials + Technologies Group (GMT), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plaza Europa 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
2 Ecomaterials Division, Institute of Research in Materials Science and Technology (INTEMA), UNMdP-CONICET, Av. Juan B. Justo 4302, B7608FDQ Mar del Plata, Argentina

* Corresponding Author: marangur@fi .mdp.edu.ar

Journal of Renewable Materials 2015, 3(1), 3-13. https://doi.org/10.7569/JRM.2014.634132

Received 20 November 2014; Accepted 08 January 2015;

Abstract

Rigid polyurethane foams were synthesized by using a vegetable oil-based polyol and 4,4-diphenylmethane diisocyanate prepolymer as the majority of reactives,. The polyol was produced by hydroxylation of crude linseed oil with performic acid generated in situ by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid. The characterization by FTIR, H1 NMR, iodine and hydroxyl values of the polyol and its comparison with the original linseed oil supports the success of the reaction. The reference foam was subsequently modifi ed by substituting part of the linseed oil polyol with glycerol, diethylene glycol, and a polyethylene glycol (all of them of lower molecular weight than the natural polyol). As was expected, glycerol acts as a crosslinker, increasing density and compression properties of the foams. The analysis of the compression results highlighted the importance of the concentration of the polymeric isocyanate (pMDI) in the initial formulation. The pMDI concentration also played a role in the char formation of the foams according to thermogravimetric analysis. The higher crosslinking density of the glycerol-modifi ed foam resulted in better thermal stability among the different foams.

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Keywords

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