Controlling the reactivity of hydrophilic bark extractives as biopolyols in urethane-formation reactions using various catalysts

The composition, functionality, and reactivity of black alder (Alnus glutinosa) bark extractives as a biopolyol with polymeric diphenyl methane diisocyanate (PMDI) have been studied using a variety of methods, including HPLC, GPC, GC, wet chemistry, and isothermal calorimetry. The Black alder (BA) bark extractives were identified as a prospective polyol consisting mainly of the oregonin-xyloside form of diarylheptanoid, which contains OH groups that are almost equally represented by phenolic and aliphatic origins. To identify catalysts that effectively increase the reactivity of low-active phenolic OH groups in urethane formation reactions, the kinetics of extractives and model compounds' interaction with PMDI catalyzed with tin organic, dibutyl tin dilaurate (DBTDL) and tertiary amine, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) catalyst in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution were studied. The results showed that DABCO resulted in a fourfold higher reactivity of phenolic groups with PMDI compared to DBTDL catalyzed reactions. Furthermore, the reactivity of phenolic groups with PMDI catalyzed by DABCO was almost twofold greater than that of aliphatic OH catalyzed by DBTDL. The second-order constants of 31.9 x 10(-4) mol.L-1.s(-1) and 53.7 x 10(-4) .L-1.s(-1) were determined for the interaction of extractives with PMDI in the presence of DBTDL and DABCO, respectively. The disappearance of the radical scavenging effect of phenolic compounds in extractives derived PU elastomers obtained with DABCO catalyst indicates complete reactions of phenolic groups with isocyanate, while these groups remain partly free in the case of DBTDL catalysis. It is assumed that a combination of DBTDL and DABCO catalysts will be necessary to achieve high crosslinking while leaving a small portion of free phenolic groups in the bio-based PU network, thus obtaining material with high mechanical properties and thermal oxidative stability.