Polyurethanes: Polyols, Isocyanates, Rigid Foams, Flexible Foams, Elastomers

Polyurethanes are among the most commercially significant specialty polymers, with an annual production volume of 25 million metric tons. Their manufacturing process utilizes liquid reactive components, and the wide variety of starting materials enables the creation of a diverse range of products for the consumer, transportation, industrial, and construction industries.

This book discusses the synthesis of isocyanates and polyols, along with their polymerization, linking the structures of the starting components to the polymer morphology and mechanical properties of the resulting polymers. It provides a fundamental introduction to polymer physics, processing, and foam formation while focusing on three main applications of polyurethane: low-density rigid foam, low-density flexible foam, and elastomers. The book is suitable for graduate students in chemistry, materials science, and industrial chemistry, as well as for those new to the polyurethanes industry.

Prof. Dr. Berend Eling earned his PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Groningen in 1984 and spent nearly 40 years in R&D at ICI (now Huntsman) and BASF Polyurethanes. He became a senior principal scientist at BASF and an honorary professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Hamburg.

Dr. Wolfgang Friederichs earned his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Cologne in 1985. Subsequently, he joined Bayer Material Science, where he led the global polyurethane product research group. After leaving the industry in 2014, he became the editor-in-chief of PU Magazine.