Aromatic polyether polyols offer significant potential product improvements to formulators in the coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers (CASE) arena. These polyols have many attributes, as they improve flammability resistance, thermal performance, hydrolytic stability, and mechanical properties of polyurethanes and polyureas.
When faced with improving the performance of polyurethane articles with respect to toughness, abrasion and cut-chip resistance; a broad thermal profile (low and high-temperature performance) and durability; chemical, oil, and solvent resistance; hydrolysis resistance; and processing, formulators turn to Gantrade’s variety of polycaprolactone polyol grades to maximize a broad cross-section of these parameters.
Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol (PTMEG) is the premier polyether polyol used worldwide in the manufacture of high-performance polyurethane elastomers. Known for its unique performance attributes and processing advantages, PTMEG is used in a variety of applications across multiple industries.
The Daicel N-series of polyols, offered worldwide by Gantrade, is a family of Innovative, very narrow molecular weight distribution polycaprolactone polyols. Key features and benefits of this unique low MWD series of polycaprolactone polyols for polyurethanes include the following:
Formulators of coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers (CASE), as well as makers of foams and elastic fiber applications, utilize a diverse family of polyols to meet specifications for product performance. These polyols include polytetramethylene ether glycols (PTMEG), polypropylene glycols (PPG), adipate- and phthalate-based polyesters, polycaprolactone polyols, and polycarbonate polyols.
3D printing is one of the fastest-growing and most transformative fabrication technologies in the modern era, due to the benefits of manufacturing parts with complex geometries, reducing cost and weight, and achieving dimensional accuracy. It’s often the only feasible technology for producing specific, complex parts with intricate details that are simply not possible using conventional manufacturing.
More and more, manufacturers are demanding bio-sourced raw materials to help their customers achieve their sustainability goals. In the service of these goals, manufacturers must focus on raw materials that are safer and derived from renewable resources. Sustainability helps manufacturers and their customers achieve a triple bottom line based on profitability, greater social responsibility, and improved environmental conditions via a reduced CO2 footprint.
Polyurethanes are a special class of segmented block copolymers, consisting of alternating sequences of soft and hard segments. The soft segment is generally based on polyether or polyester polyols with glass transitions (Tg) well below room temperature, while the hard segment is composed of a diisocyanate and chain extender. The hard segment is often crystalline.
All polyol classes used in polyurethanes have a set of unique attributes that make them useful as the soft-segment in specific polyurethane elastomer applications. Selecting the best polyol for a specific formula can be the difference between making a high-quality product or one that’s low-performing. The key for proper material selection is a good understanding of the inherent characteristics of each polyol chemistry.
Polyurethanes based on polyester polyols, in general, exhibit higher tensile and tear properties, abrasion resistance, thermal stability, chemical resistance and weathering performance compared to polyether-based polyurethanes. They are preferred in the most demanding environments and applications. However, there is one weak point of polyester based polyurethanes. They are much more susceptible to hydrolysis compare with polyethers in polyurethanes. A part made of polyester based polyurethanes can gradually lose properties in a humid environment or water emersion.
2-Methyl-1,3-propanediol (MPO) based polyester polyols largely overcomes this deficiency due to the steric shielding of the ester linkage by the pendant methyl group on MPO, and greater hydrophobicity. MPOis an ideal diol intermediate for polyester polyols used in polyurethane elastomers (PURs). This is because MPOs unique structure enhances hydrolytic stability, affords liquid polyester polyols that are easier to handle, and demonstrates excellent compatibility in formulations.
