Abstract

The present work is a first attempt for the development of non-isocyanate polyurethane rigid foam. Two-component hybrid non-isocyanate polyurethane compound was used as the baseline. Different types of chemical products were used as blowing agents, among them Petroleum ether and high purity Cyclopentane. Moreover, the addition of organic nanoparticles at different loading content (2,3 and 5% wt) was tested to promote the foaming process, reduce the foam density, homogenize the size of foam cells, and increase mechanical properties of the final rigid foams. The main achievement of the present study is that non-isocyanate rigid foams with reasonable good mechanical characteristics can be developed using non-isocyanate compounds. Furthermore, the addition of nanoparticles during the foaming process, provides a mean to control density, and concludes to increased mechanical properties.

Keyword: Non-isocyanate; Rigid polyurethane foams; Nanoclays; Mechanical properties