Chemical degradation of polyurethanes. Degradation of microporous polyurethane elastomer by dimethyl phosphonate

摘要

The primary aim of these studies is to develop a new method for converting polyurethane waste materials and used polyurethanes into reusable products which can be used in the preparation of polymers with reduced flammability. Microporous polyurethane elastomer based on diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and polyester polyol-Bayflex 2003E has been degraded by dimethyl phosphonate. The reaction has been run without any catalysts at 142℃. The structure of degraded products has been studied by ~1H, ~13C and ~3lP NMR spectroscopy. The likely reaction mechanism of the chemical degradation of microporous polyurethane elastomer is presented.