Extending the working life of toluene diisocyanate-based polyurethanes

Abstract

This work demonstrates that the addition of tridecanoic acid to a toluene diisocyante (TDI)-based polyurethane considerable increases its working life. Formulations with the additive exhibited little changes in chemistry, glass-transition temperatures, and thermal stability as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, rheology studies, nuclear magnetic resonance, solvent swelling tests, and thermal analyses. There was a slight increase in toughness of the additive formulation associated with an increase in engineering strain and a decrease in peak engineering stress. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the acid forms hydrogen bonding with the OH groups from the diols, slowing down the polymerization. These studies demonstrate that tridecanoic acid can be used to extend working time of a TDI-based polyurethane with minimal changes to physical and chemical properties when compared to the pristine polyurethane. (c) 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47865.