Previous work demonstrated the innate ability of bis-carbonylimidazolide (BCI) monomers to decarboxylate in the melt, allowing catalyst- and solvent-free foaming through a non-isocyanate pathway. A CO2 detector elucidated the decarboxylation mechanism of BCI monomers. This mechanism was leveraged to produce foams blown with a CO2 - imidazole mixture or pure imidazole. Resulting architectural changes were characterized with scanning electron and optical microscopy. An optimal blowing route was identified and leveraged to achieve targeted architectures for flexible and structural foam applications. Investigations directed towards structural foam applications revealed that cyclohexane dimethanol afforded a rigid monomer capable of producing a structural foam with a high Tg (114 ° C). The desire to increase structural integrity and thermal performance of non-isocyanate BCI foams drove the synthesis of two new rigid monomers. These monomers were based on commercial diols with hindered, ring-containing structures, tricyclo[5.2.1.02,6]decanedimethanol (TCD) and 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (CB). Expanding the library of BCI monomers for tunable foam properties resulted in a new foaming pathway that utilizes imidazole to produce even pores when compared to CO2 blown foams.

Non-isocyanate polyurethane microcellular structures from bis-carbonylimidizolide decarboxylation

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ACS Fall 2022

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