Effect of chemical modification and improvement of polyurethane formulation: Application of thermal insulation

Abstract

Polyurethane (PU) insulating materials and rigid PU foams (RPUFs) are of great importance for scientific and industrial research. These materials are used for a variety of other applications, such as buildings, institutions, pipes and appliances. In this sense, this study is aimed to optimize and improve the heat resistance of the polymer. It also has to improve the formulation and characterize aqueous polyurethane dispersions to enable their use and application in thermal insulation. The polyurethane was produced by the polyaddition catalytic reaction of a polyol (Pol) with diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) in the presence of a foaming agent, cyclopentane (CP). To prepare aqueous polyurethane dispersions for a thermal insulation, which are stable in time and have homogeneous dispersive properties (chemical structure, density, viscosity), several dispersions were obtained with different Pol/MDI/CP ratios to reduce the demolding time. The formulation and its modifications are industrially applicable and satisfy environmental requirements.