Polyurethane foams are very versatile materials applied in different branches of industry. Their popularity is attributed, among others, to the flexibility in engineering their mechanical performance by the adjustment of their formulations. One of the most crucial factors is the isocyanate index, determining the ratio between the free hydroxyl and isocyanate groups present in the polyurethane system. By the change of this ratio,...

The structure and performance of polyurethane (PU) foams are strongly driven by the stoichiometry of the polyaddition reaction, quantitatively described by the isocyanate index. It determines the balance between isocyanate and hydroxyl groups in the reacting system and is affected by the introduction of additional functionalities originated, e.g., from applied fillers. Nevertheless, this issue is hardly taken into account in research...

In the presented work, rigid polyurethane-polyisocyanurate (PUR-PIR) foams filled with brewers’ spent grain (BSG) were prepared. The influence of the isocyanate index (II) on its performance was investigated. Foams obtained with higher isocyanate index required a higher amount of hydrofluorocarbon physical blowing agent to provide the same apparent density of material. An increase of isocyanate index resulted in a slight decrease...

Isocyanate-free polyurethanes (also called non-isocyanate polyurethanes, or NIPUs) are alternatives to the conventional (commercially used) polyurethanes synthesized using di- or polyisocyanates, polyols, and chain extenders with low molecular weight. The major routes of NIPUs’ synthesis involve polyaddition of cyclic carbonates and di- or polyamines, polycondensation of carbamates, and diols. The most important intermediates are...

The main aim of this chapter is to present a general overview of the NIPU synthesis method (i.e., polycondensation and polyaddition), and to describe structure and properties of selected intermediates and final polymeric products. The focus is on five-membered ring cyclic carbonate intermediates, which were obtained by cycloaddition of carbon dioxide to selected glycidyl ethers and thiol-ene coupling of unsaturated cyclic carbonates...