Synthesis and Characterization of Bio-Based Rigid Polyurethane Foams with Varying Amount of Blowing Agent

We report on the rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) with varying amount of blowing agent. The effects of blowing agent in the formation of polyurethane will be characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. SEM images revealed that varying the amount of blowing agent will significantly change the surface morphology of the resulting RPUF. The average cell size of the RPUF increases with increasing amount of blowing agent. Moreover, FTIR results revealed the presence of functional group related to formation of urethane bonds such as N-H, C=O, C=N and C-O-C stretching suggesting that polyurethane foam was successfully synthesized. This simple and straightforward process of RPUF using water as blowing agent will be economical.