Design of a Low-Decomposition-Temperature Polyurethane Foam

In this work, we describe polyurethane foams designed to degrade at relatively low temperatures, incorporating polypropylene carbonate polyols as well as novel polycarbonates designed for low-temperature degradation. Polyurethane foams formed using degradable polyols and typical water/MDI blowing agents showed poor degradation performance. Significantly better degradation performance was observed in foams formulated to use a minimum of water/isocyanate blowing agent. Degradation performance was also improved by the inclusion of a strong acid catalyst and the use of aliphatic isocyanates in place of aromatic isocyanates. These degradable polyurethane foams may have applications in low-waste packaging or packaging of hazardous materials.