What is it about?
Polyurethane elastomers with high bio content are prepared from a polyol made from oleic acid. Soft segment concentration (also bio-content) was 50% and 70%, the former giving hard and the latter fairly soft elastomer. Oleic acid methyl ester was epoxidized then hydrogenated to obtain 9-(or 10) hydroxy methyl ester of oleic acid. By controlling the ratio of hexane diol and hydroxy methyl ester one can obtain polyester diols of different molecular weights. In our case we targeted MW=2000. Using diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) with the polyol one obtains a quasi-prepolymer which is then reacted with butane diol to give polyurethane elastomer. Properties of two elastomers were analyzed.
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Why is it important?
Polyurethane soft segments based on oleic acid are unique since they have 8-9 carbon long "dangling chains" which have plasticizing effect. Measuring properties of this type of elastomers show their usefulness for different applications. Being oil-based they may display increased biodegradability, which is important for some short-life products such as shoes.
Perspectives
Similar polyols but with primary OH groups were made from hydroformylated oleic acid. They are more reactive than polyols in this work, but hydroformylation is a more expensive way of making hydroxy fatty acids than epoxidation-hydrogenation route.
Professor Zoran S Petrovic
Pittsburg State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers from modified oleic acid, Polymer International, July 2014, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/pi.4771.
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