Polyurethanes History

Otto Bayer and colleagues carried out innovative work in the field of polyurethane polymers at IG Laboratories in 1937. Farben in Leverkusen, Germany. He realized that the use of several additional principles in the production of polyurethane from liquid diisocyanate and liquid polyether or polyester diol points to special possibilities, especially when compared to existing plastics made by polymerizing olefins or polycondensation. The new monomer composition also circumvented the existing polyester patent owned by Wallace Carruthers. Initially, the work focused on the production of flexible fibers and foam. As development was constrained by World War II (when PU was used to a limited extent as an aircraft coating), polyisocyanates only became commercially available in 1952. Commercial production of flexible polyurethane foams based on toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and polyester polyols began in 1954. This foam (originally called imitation Swiss cheese) was invented by water accidentally added to the reaction mixture in Silicone Polyether.

These materials have also been used to make rigid foams, rubber rubbers and elastomers. The linear fibers were prepared from hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO). The first commercially available polyether polyol (poly (tetramethylene ether) glycol) was introduced by DuPont in 1956 to polymerize tetrahydrofuran. The following year, in 1957, BASF and Dow Chemicals introduced the cheapest polysarma glycol. These polyether polyols offered technical and commercial advantages such as lower costs, easy handling and better water stability.

 And polyester polyols are changing rapidly in the polyurethane industry. Mobey was another early PU pioneer. In 1960, more than 45,000 tons of flexible polyurethane foam were produced. Over the decade, the availability of chlorofluoroalkane, low-cost polyether polyols, and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) foams has allowed the development and use of rigid polyurethane foams as high-performance insulation materials. Their stability and combustion properties based on TDI. In 1967, urethane-modified rigid polyisocyanurate foams were introduced to provide improved thermal stability and flame resistance for low-density insulation products.

Also in the 1960s, vehicle interior safety components, such as instrument panels and doors, were produced by repackaging thermo-leather with semi-rigid foam. In 1969, Bayer AG demonstrated an all-plastic car in Düsseldorf, Germany. Parts of this vehicle are manufactured using a new process called RIM, Reaction Injection Molding. RIM technology uses the high pressure effect of liquid components, followed by a rapid flow of the reaction mixture into the mold cavity. Large parts, such as the front and body panels of a car, can be built on this continent. Silicone Polyether has evolved into many different products and processes. 

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Created on Feb 14th 2022 04:49. Viewed 74 times.

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