Preparation and Characterization of Condensed Tannin Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane (NIPU) Rigid Foams by Ambient Temperature Blowing

• Main Authors: Xinyi Chen, Xuedong Xi, Antonio Pizzi, Emmanuel Fredon, Xiaojian Zhou, Jinxing Li, Christine Gerardin, Guanben Du
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
• Series: Polymers
• Subjects: mimosa tannin; rigid NIPU foam; self-blowing; MALDI-TOF; ¹³C NMR; FTIR
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/4/750

Ambient temperature self-blowing mimosa tannin-based non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) rigid foam was produced, based on a formulation of tannin-based non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) resin. A citric acid and glutaraldehyde mixture served as a blowing agent used to provide foaming energy and cross-link the tannin-derived products to synthesize the NIPU foams. Series of tannin-based NIPU foams containing a different amount of citric acid and glutaraldehyde were prepared. The reaction mechanism of tannin-based NIPU foams were investigated by Fourier Trasform InfraRed (FT-IR), Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, and ¹³C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹³C NMR). The results indicated that urethane linkages were formed. The Tannin-based NIPU foams morphology including physical and mechanical properties were characterized by mechanical compression, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). All the foams prepared showed a similar open-cell morphology. Nevertheless, the number of cell-wall pores decreased with increasing additions of glutaraldehyde, while bigger foam cells were obtained with increasing additions of citric acid. The compressive mechanical properties improved with the higher level of crosslinking at the higher amount of glutaraldehyde. Moreover, the TGA results showed that the tannin-based NIPU foams prepared had similar thermal stability, although one of them (T-Fs-7) presented the highest char production and residual matter, approaching 18.7% at 790 °C.