Jenő Borda

Glycolysis of polyurethane foams and elastomers

Abstract Optimum conditions for the glycolysis of polyurethane flexible foams and elastomers are reported. The crude, two-phase liquid reaction mixture was separated and the upper phase was used as the polyol component of an industrial adhesive mixture. During glycolysis the formation of carbon dioxide was recognized and quantified. On the basis of this new finding a novel reaction mechanism is proposed for the glycolysis of polyurethanes.

Optimum conditions for the synthesis of linear polylactic acid-based urethanes

The reactions of polylactic acid (PLA) oligomers and isocyanates (4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate) are reported. The effects of the reaction conditions, that is, the reaction time, reaction temperature, molar ratios, isocyanates, and catalyst, on the number-average molecular weight (Mn ) are demonstrated. The optimum reaction conditions are determined by the synthesis of relatively high Mn PLA-based linear polyurethanes. The structure of the polymer samples was investigated with dynamic light scattering, 1H NMR, IR, and matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS).