Structure-rheology relationship of fully bio-based linear polyester polyols for polyurethanes - Synthesis and investigation

Abstract

The synthesis of polyols from renewable substances as an alternative for petrochemical-based polyols play important matter in the polyurethane industry. In this work, the fully bio-based linear polyester polyols with different catalyst amounts were synthesized via two-step polycondensation method. The effect of various catalyst content on the structure and rheological behavior were established. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Gel Permeation Chromatography and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry allowed confirming the impact of the catalyst amount during synthesis on the molecular structure of the resulted polyols. Through the hyphenation of these sophisticated polymer characterization techniques, information on the molecular weight distribution was obtained. Moreover, it was found that the obtained polyols are non-Newtonian fluids. According to conducted measurements, it was observed that the poly(propylene succinate)s prepared with the use of the 0.25 wt.% and 0.30 wt.% catalyst revealed the structures and selected properties the most akin to design.