Green polyurethane from lignin and soybean oil through non-isocyanate reactions

Here we report the synthesis route to produce non-isocyanate polyurethane elastomer with significantly high biomass contents (85 wt%) prepared from two different biomasses, i.e., lignin and soybean oil, for the first time. Carbonated soybean oil was reacted with coupling agent, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, to form urethane bridges, and then lignin was introduced to produce sustainable polyurethane. All samples were studied by the FT-IR spectra which showed typical linkages of polyurethane. The increase in lignin content resulted in the increase of tensile strength, reaching as high as 1.4 MPa. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.