Ứng dụng

Polyurethanes are one of the most commonly used types of plastic. They are produced by the reaction of raw polyols with isocyanates. Depending on the starting material a wide variety of plastics can be obtained. The determination of the acid value, hydroxyl value, and isocyanate content plays an important part in the analysis of raw materials for plastics. The acid number of polyol raw material is usually used in quality control to ensure batch-to-batch uniformity. Additionally it is used as correction factor for calculating the true hydroxyl number. In this Application Bulletin the determination of the acid number according to ASTM D4662 and ASTM D7253 is described. One raw material for polyurethanes are polyols. Polyols contain multiple hydroxyl groups. Therefore, hydroxyl number of a raw material directly correlates to the amount of polyols present and it is thus an important quality control parameter. In this Application Bulletin the determination of the hydroxyl number according to ASTM E1899 and DIN 53240-3 is described. As polyols react stoichiometrically with isocyanates, the knowledge of the isocyanate content is an important quality parameter for the production of polyurethanes. In this document the determination according to EN ISO 14896 method A, ASTM D5155 method A and ASTM D2572 is described.

Polyurethane (PU) is a class of very important polymers due to its flexibility and insulating properties. It is used in various industries such as the automobile industry, in building construction, as well as in the production of synthetic fibers. PU is mostly produced via a chemical reaction between polyisocyanates and polyols. The isocyanate (NCO) content in the raw material is crucial to control its properties. This Application Note shows an easy and straightforward way to determine the NCO content in polyurethane raw materials using a fully automated titration system from Metrohm.