Bio-Based Polyurethane Networks Containing Sunflower Oil Based Polyols

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Polyurethanes are versatile polymers with diverse applications.
• There is a growing demand for sustainable and bio-based materials in polymer science.
• Sunflower oil offers a renewable resource for developing novel polymer components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize polyurethanes (SO-PU) incorporating sunflower oil glycerides.
• To evaluate the structural, thermal, and mechanical properties of the synthesized SO-PU.
• To assess the potential of SO-PU for applications in biocompatible and biodegradable scaffolds.

Main Methods:

• Transesterification of sunflower oil with glycerol to create a glyceride mixture.
• Two-step polyurethane synthesis using diisocyanates (MDI or HDI) and the glyceride mixture.
• Characterization using MALDI-TOF MS, NMR, SEC, ATR-FTIR, DSC, TGA, and SEM.
• Mechanical testing and analysis using stress-strain curves.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of SO-PU incorporating sunflower oil glycerides.
• Characterization confirmed the structure and properties of the glyceride mixture and SO-PU.
• SO-PU films exhibited suitable properties for scaffold preparation.
• Mechanical behavior was analyzed and modeled, considering yield and strain hardening.

Conclusions:

• Sunflower oil glycerides can be effectively used as a diol component in polyurethane synthesis.
• The resulting SO-PU materials are potentially biocompatible and biodegradable.
• These novel polyurethanes offer tunable mechanical properties for advanced material applications.