A new way of creating cellular polyurethane materials: NIPU foams

This article describes, for the first time, the synthesis of polyurethane foams from the reaction between cyclic carbonates and diamines to yield NonIsocyanate PolyUrethane (NIPU) foams. A poly(methylhydrogenosiloxane) was used as blowing agent to foam the NIPU by reaction with diamines. The raw materials were characterized in order to determine reaction stoichiometry. NIPU foams were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and by measurement of their swelling index and apparent density. The mechanical compression and the recovery of these NIPU foams were analyzed by dynamic mechanical analyses at room temperature. The foams exhibited glass transition temperature between −18 °C and 19 °C and a thermal stability above 300 °C.