Synthesis, Characterization and Properties of Soybean Oil-Based Polyurethane

At present, the consumption of polyurethane is huge in various industries. As a result, it has become a research hotspot to use environmentally friendly and renewable bio-based raw materials (instead of petroleum-based raw materials) to prepare polyurethane. In this paper, epoxy soybean oil (ESO) was used as raw material, and polyethylene glycol (PEG-600) was used for ring opening. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1 NMR) analysis proved that soybean oil-based polyester polyols was prepared. Soybean oil-based polyurethane (SPU) was synthesized by the reaction of the soybean oil-based polyol with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), so as to save energy and protect the environment. The properties of SPU films were adjusted by changing the R value (the molar ration of -NCO/-OH) and the film forming temperature. The chemical structure and properties of the SPU were characterized by FTIR, H-1 NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that the mechanical strength, water contact angle, microphase separation degree, barrier property, and thermal stability of SPU films gradually increase, while the transparency, oxygen permeability coefficient and moisture permeability coefficient of SPU films gradually decrease with the increase of R value and film forming temperature.

Automated summary

This paper explores the use of environmentally friendly and renewable bio-based materials to prepare polyurethane. Epoxy soybean oil and polyethylene glycol were used to prepare soybean oil-based polyester polyols, which were then reacted with isophorone diisocyanate to synthesize soybean oil-based polyurethane. The properties of the polyurethane films were adjusted by changing the reaction conditions, and the results show that the properties of the polyurethane films change accordingly.