Guenter Matzke

Secondary Aliphatic Polyether Amines for Polyurea RIM Systems

The excellent mechanical properties and high productivity of polyurea RIM systems allow for a broad variety of applications in the automo tive industry. Due to their high reactivity, however, these systems can lead to problems concerning the filling of large and complicated molds. Some years ago BASF/Elastogran introduced new polyurea/amide RIM systems (ELASTOLIT® R 4500 RIM series) based on polyether ketimines, which have reduced reactivity in comparison to polyethers with aliphatic pri mary amino end groups. This paper reports on research work for the new ELASTOLIT® R 4500/IF (Improved Flowability) RIM systems which are based on polyethers with secondary amino end groups. While mechanical properties remain at the level known from the polyurea RIM systems, the flowability and processability are superior even when compared to the polyether ketimine systems.