Influence of diethanol amine (DEOA) on structure-property relationships in molded flexible polyurethane foams

A series of flexible polyurethane foams with varying concentrations of the crosslinking agent diethanol amine (DEOA) were investigated regarding structure property behavior. FTIR and WAXS analyses showed that DEOA had a disrupting affect on the bidentate hydrogen bonding within the hard domains of the polymer. DMS revealed that DEOA softens the foam in the rubbery region and alters the degree of microphase separation. Annealing treatments were shown to reduce the DEOA influence on microphase separation and some of the softening effect. FTIR was used to show that bidentate hydrogen bonding is enhanced through the annealing of DEOA foams.