CO2-Blown Nonisocyanate Polyurethane Foams

Polyurethane (PU) foams are produced from toxic, petrochemical-and phosgene-derived isocyanates. Although nonisocyanate polyurethane(NIPU) has shown promise as a replacement for traditional PU, thesynthesis of NIPU foams has not been widely studied due to the difficultiesin replicating the foaming process of PU, in situ CO2 productionthrough the hydrolysis of isocyanates. Hereby, we report the synthesisof amine-CO2 adducts and their CO2 adsorption-desorptioncharacteristics under different conditions. The results show thatthe amine-CO2 adducts can exhibit up to 87% CO2 desorption at 60 & DEG;C after aminolysis with cyclic carbonate.The amine-CO2 adduct is used as both a foaming agent anda comonomer to obtain low-density foams (0.203-0.239 g & BULL;cm(-3)) after heating at 50-60 & DEG;C for 24-48h. This marks the successful synthesis of in situ CO2-blownNIPU foams using an amine-CO2 adduct.