Patent Application
20070287761
The catalyst compositions according to the invention catalyze the reaction between an isocyanate functionality and an active hydrogen-containing compound, i.e. an alcohol, a polyol, an amine or water, especially the urethane (gelling) reaction of polyol hydroxyls with isocyanate to make polyurethanes and the blowing reaction of water with isocyanate to release carbon dioxide for making foamed polyurethanes.
The flexible polyurethane foam products, slab, molded and microcellular, are prepared using any suitable organic polyisocyanates well known in the art including, for example, hexamethylene diisocyanate, phenylene diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate (“TDI”) and 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (“MDI”). Especially suitable are the 2,4-and 2,6-TDI's individually or together as their commercially available mixtures. Other suitable isocyanates are mixtures of diisocyanates known commercially as “crude MDI”, marketed as PAPI by Dow Chemical, which contain about 60% of 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate along with other isomeric and analogous higher polyisocyanates. Also suitable are “prepolymers” of these polyisocyanates comprising a partially prereacted mixture of a polyisocyanate and a polyether or polyester polyol.
Illustrative of suitable polyols as a component of the polyurethane composition are the polyalkylene ether and polyester polyols. The polyalkylene ether polyols include the poly(alkylene oxide) polymers such as poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) polymers and copolymers with terminal hydroxyl groups derived from polyhydric compounds, including diols and triols; for example, among others, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,3-butane diol, 1,4-butane diol, 1,6-hexane diol, neopentyl glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, pentaerythritol, glycerol, diglycerol, trimethylol propane and like low molecular weight polyols.
In the practice of this invention, a single high molecular weight polyether polyol may be used. Also, mixtures of high molecular weight polyether polyols such as mixtures of di- and trifunctional materials and/or different molecular weight or different chemical composition materials may be used.
Useful polyester polyols include those produced by reacting a dicarboxylic acid with an excess of a diol, for example, adipic acid, phthalic acid or phthalic anhydride with ethylene glycol or butanediol, or reacting a lactone with an excess of a diol such as caprolactone with propylene glycol.
In addition to the polyether and polyester polyols, the masterbatches, or premix compositions, frequently contain a polymer polyol. Polymer polyols are used in polyurethane foam to increase the foam's resistance to deformation, i.e. to increase the load-bearing properties of the foam. Currently, two different types of polymer polyols are used to achieve load-bearing improvement. The first type, described as a graft polyol, consists of a triol in which vinyl monomers are graft copolymerized. Styrene and acrylonitrile are the usual monomers of choice. The second type, a polyurea modified polyol, is a polyol containing a polyurea dispersion formed by the reaction of a diamine and TDI. Since TDI is used in excess, some of the TDI may react with both the polyol and polyurea. This second type of polymer polyol has a variant called PIPA polyol which is formed by the in-situ polymerization of TDI and alkanolamine in the polyol. Depending on the load-bearing requirements, polymer polyols may comprise 20-80% of the polyol portion of the masterbatch.
Other typical agents found in the water blown polyurethane foam formulations include chain extenders such as ethylene glycol and butanediol; crosslinkers such as diethanolamine, diisopropanolamine, triethanolamine and tripropanolamine; auxiliary blowing agents such CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, pentane, and the like; and cell stabilizers such as silicones.
A general polyurethane flexible foam formulation having a 1-4 lb/ft3 (16-65 kg/m3) density (e.g., automotive seating) containing a catalyst composition according to the invention would comprise the following components in parts by weight (pbw):
The amount of polyisocyanate used in polyurethane formulations according to the invention is not limited, but it will typically be within those ranges known to those of skill in the art. An exemplary range is given in the above table, indicated by reference to “NCO Index” (isocyanate index). As is known in the art, the NCO index is defined as the number of equivalents of isocyanate, divided by the total number of equivalents of active hydrogen, multiplied by 100. The NCO index is represented by the following formula.
NCO index=[NCO/(OH+NH)]X100
The method for making a water blown flexible polyurethane foam of 16 kg/m3 to 65 kg/m3 density comprises contacting a polyisocyanate, a polyol, water as the blowing agent and optionally cell stabilizers in the presence of both a catalyst composition comprising one or more tertiary amine catalysts and a 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (MPDiol) component. In one aspect of the method, the catalyst composition comprises one or more tertiary amine catalysts in combination with a 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (MPDiol) component. In another aspect the 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (MPDiol) component comprises MPDiol and in yet another aspect the MPDiol component comprises a blend of 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (MPDiol) and an alkanol containing seven or more carbon atoms or a polyalkoxylated derivative thereof.
The catalyst composition comprises at least one tertiary amine urethane catalyst in combination with either MPDiol or a blend of MPDiol and an alkanol containing at least 7 carbon atoms, desirably a linear or branched C7-C26 alkanol, including polyoxyalkylene monools prepared by reaction of alkylene oxides (especially ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide) in the presence of C7-C26 monool initiators. The preferred linear alkanols fall within the C8-C14 range, including octanol through tetradecanol, the preferred polyoxyalkylene alkanols are Tomadol 23-1 (C12-C13 centered alkanol cut alkoxylated with an average of 1 mole of ethylene oxide per mole of alkanol) and Tomadol 91-2.5 (C9-C11 centered alkanol cut alkoxylated with an average of 2.7 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alkanol). The preferred branched alkanols are 2-ethylhexanol and isostearyl alcohol.
In addition to the MPDiol component, the catalyst composition may also contain diluents that are typically used for delivering urethane catalysts to the polyurethane reaction mixture, such dipropylene glycol (DPG), ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG).
Tertiary amine catalysts can be classified as gelling or blowing. Any gelling or blowing catalyst known in the art may be used according to the invention. For the purposes of this invention a gelling catalyst is any tertiary amine urethane catalyst known in the urethane art with an initial selectivity of less than 0.7, while a blowing catalyst has an initial selectivity equal to or greater than 0.7. Catalyst selectivity is defined as the ratio of the rate of blowing (urea formation) to the rate of gelling (urethane formation) [J. Cellular Plastics, Vol. 28,1992, pp. 360-398].
Examples of suitable tertiary amine gelling catalysts include but are not restricted to diazabicyclooctane (triethylenediamine), supplied commercially in dipropylene glycol as DABCO 33-LV® catalyst by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., 1,8-diaza-bicyclo (5.4.0)undecene-7, quinuclidine and substituted quinuclidines (U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,944 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,039), substituted pyrrolizidines (U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,603), and substituted pyrrolidines (EP 499 873), pentamethyldipropylenetriamine, tris(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-amine, dimethylcyclohexylamine, methyldicyclohexylamine, N,N-dimethylethanolamine, N-alkyl morpholines, dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA), N, N, N″, N″-tetramethyl-dipropylenetriamine, N,N-bis-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N-isopropanolamine, N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N,N-diisopropanolamine, 2-(2-dimethylaminoethoxy)ethanol, 2-[N-(dimethylaminoethyl)-N-methylamino]ethanol, trimethylamine, triethylamine, tributylamine, trioctylamine, diethyl cyclohexylamine, N-methylmorpholine, N-ethyl-morpholine, N-octadecylmorpholine (N-cocomorpholine), N-methyl-diethanolamine, N, N-dimethylethanolamine, N, N′-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)piperazine, N, N, N′, N′-tetramethylethylenediamine, N, N, N′, N′-tetramethyl-1,3-propanediamine, 1,4-bis (2-hydroxypropyl)-2-methylpiperazine, N, N-dimethylbenzylamine, N, N-diethylbenzylamine, N-ethyl-hexamethyleneamine, N-ethylpiperidine, alpha-methyl-benzyldimethylamine, dimethylhexadecylamine, dimethylcetylamine, and the like.
Examples of suitable tertiary amine blowing catalysts include but are not restricted to bisdimethylaminoethyl ether, commercially supplied as DABCO® BL-11 catalyst by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., pentamethyldiethylenetriamine and related compositions (U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,713, U.S. U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,161), higher permethylated polyamines (U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,003), branched polyamines (U.S. U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,488), 2-[N-(dimethylaminoethoxyethyl)-N-methylamino]ethanol and related structures (U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,408), alkoxylated polyamines (U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,314), imidazole-boron compositions (U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,007), and aminopropyl-bis(aminoethyl)ether compositions (U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,483 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,711).
Tertiary amine urea catalysts can be used as both blowing and gelling catalysts (U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,356; U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,033; U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,403; U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,079; U.S. Pat. No. 5,756,557). Illustrative of suitable mono-ureas and bis-ureas are 2-dimethylaminoethyl urea; N,N′-bis(2-dimethylaminoethyl) urea; N,N-bis(2-dimethylaminoethyl) urea; 3-dimethyl-aminopropyl urea; N,N′-bis(3-dimethylaminopropyl) urea; N,N-bis(3-dimethylamino-propyl) urea; 1-(N-methyl-3-pyrrolidino)methyl urea; 1,3-bis(N-methyl-3-pyrrolidino)-methyl urea; 3-piperidinopropyl urea; N,N′-bis(3-piperidinopropyl) urea; 2-piperidinoethyl urea; and N,N′-bis(2-piperidinoethyl) urea. U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,017 teaches amino alkyl ureas useful in the practice of the present invention and is hereby incorporated by reference.
The preferred ureas are 3-dimethylaminopropyl urea, N,N′-bis(3-dimethylamino-propyl) urea, 1-(N-methyl-3-pyrrolidino)methyl urea, 1,3-bis(N-methyl-3-pyrrolidino)-methyl urea, a mixture of 3-dimethylaminopropyl urea and N,N′-bis(3-dimethylamino-propyl) urea, and a mixture of 1-(N-methyl-3-pyrrolidino)methyl urea and 1,3-bis(N-methyl-3-pyrrolidino)methyl urea, the mixtures preferably being in a 75:25 to 95:5 molar ratio of mono-urea to bis-urea.
In one embodiment of the invention, some or all of the gelling, blowing, and trimerization catalyst may be “blocked” with (i.e. a salt formed with) a carboxylic acid, a phenol, or a substituted phenol, assuming that the catalyst contains amine functionality with which to form a salt. It is preferred that the “blocked” catalysts be “acid blocked”. It should be noted that the catalyst as added to a polyurethane formulation may contain the carboxylic acid or phenol already present, or the acid or phenol may be added with one or more of the other ingredients in the formulation, thereby forming the salt in situ. By providing the catalyst composition in the form of such a salt, a delayed onset of catalyst activity may be achieved. This may be beneficial in some applications, for example where a delay in viscosity increase is desired in order to facilitate mold filling.
Many carboxylic acids are suitable for blocking any or all of the gelling, blowing, and trimerization catalyst components according to the invention. Nonlimiting examples include formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, 2-ethylhexanoic acid, aryloxy-substituted carboxylic acids such as phenoxyacetic acid and (dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid, and halogenated acids such as 2-chloropropionic acid and a ring-halogenated aromatic carboxylic acids such as chlorobenzoic acid. Further nonlimiting examples of suitable acids include hydroxy acids such as gluconic acid, hydroxyacetic acid, tartaric acid, and citric acid. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that certain acids in combination with certain gelling/blowing catalyst combinations, as a part of certain overall compositions of the polyurethane formulation, may detract from some performance properties of the overall composition and process, for example relating to the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC's) during and/or after forming the polyurethane. The determination of acceptable combinations of acids with catalysts for a given application may therefore require some amount of routine experimentation, such as is within the ability of the skilled artisan, with such combinations still falling within the scope of the invention.
Any of a number of phenols may be used for forming salts with any or all of the gelling, blowing, and trimerization catalyst components. Suitable nonlimiting examples include nonylphenol, isopropylphenol, octylphenol, and tert-butylphenol. Also useful are dialkylphenols, for example diisopropylphenol and di-tert-butylphenol. Typically, phenol itself is used.
The catalyst composition comprises 10 to 90 wt % one or more tertiary amine catalysts, such as the gelling, blowing or urea catalysts, at and 90 to 10 wt % MPDiol component which may comprise MPDiol itself or a blend of MPDiol and an alcohol. Desirably the catalyst composition comprises tertiary amine catalyst and sufficient MPDiol component to achieve a viscosity of 100-2000 mPa (cps), and in one especially desired embodiment 25 to 80 wt % tertiary amine catalyst and 75 to 20 wt % MPDiol component when the tertiary amine catalyst is a solid or liquid with viscosity >2000 mPa (cps) at 25° C. In another especially desired embodiment the catalyst composition comprises 60 to 90 wt % tertiary amine catalyst and 30 to 10 wt % MPDiol component when the tertiary amine catalyst is a liquid with viscosity <100 mPa (cps) at 25° C.
The MPDiol component comprises 20 to 100 wt % MPDiol and 80 to 0 wt % C7+ alkanol or alkoxylated derivative thereof. The MPDiol component may comprise 45 to 90 wt % MPDiol and 55 to 10 wt % C7+ alkanol or alkoxylated derivative thereof. In one aspect the alkanol contains 7 to 26 carbon atoms, preferably 8 to 18 carbons.
A catalytically effective amount of the catalyst composition comprising one or more tertiary amine gelling, blowing or urea catalysts in combination with the MPDiol component is used in the polyurethane formulation. More specifically, suitable amounts of the catalyst composition may range from about 0.01 to 10 parts by wt per 100 parts polyol (pphp) in the polyurethane formulation, preferably 0.05 to 2 pphp.
The catalyst composition may be used in combination with, or also comprise, other tertiary amine, organotin or carboxylate urethane catalysts well known in the urethane art.
In this example TDI polyurethane foams were prepared in a conventional manner. The polyurethane formulations in parts by weight were:
Table I lists the catalyst compositions and Table II lists the physical properties obtained using the catalysts in conjunction with carriers of this invention and a dipropylene glycol control, not of this invention. TEDA and BDMAEE catalysts were chosen to represent industry standard gelling and blowing catalysts respectively, thus bracketing the blow to gel selectivity range utilized in the foam industry [J. Cellular Plastics, Vol. 28,1992, pp. 360-398].
Machine runs for the flexible molded foam were conducted on a Hi Tech Sure Shot MHR-50, cylinder displacement series and high-pressure machine. Fresh premixes, consisting of the appropriate polyols, water, crosslinker, surfactants and catalysts for each formulation were charged to the machine. Mondur TD-80 was used throughout the entire study. All chemical temperatures were held at 23±2° C. via the machine's internal temperature control units. Foam pours were made into an isothermally controlled, heated aluminum mold maintained at 63±2° C. The mold was a typical physical property tool designed with internal dimensions of 40.6 cm×40.6 cm×10.2 cm. The mold has five vents, each approximately 1.5 mm in diameter, centered in each corner 10.0 cm from each edge and the geometric center of the lid. The mold was sprayed with a solvent-based release agent, prior to every pour and allowed to dry for one minute before pouring. The foam premix was puddle poured into the center of the mold with a wet chemical charge weight capable of completely filling the mold and obtaining the desired core densities reported. Minimum fill requirements were established for each formulation evaluated. The foam article was demolded at 240 seconds (4 minutes) after the initial pour (detailed in next paragraph). Upon demold, the foam was placed through a mechanical crusher or tested for Force-to-Crush (FTC) measurements (detailed below).
All physical property foams in each catalyst set were mechanically crushed 1 minute after demold using a Black Brothers Roller crusher set to a gap of 2.54 cm. Crushing was conducted three times on each part, rotating the foam 90 degrees after each pass through the rollers. All parts produced for physical testing were allowed to condition for at least seven days in a constant temperature and humidity room (23±2° C., 50±2% relative humidity).
Three to four physical property parts were produced for any given set of conditions. Five test specimens were die-cut from each pad and evaluated for each physical property listed in Table II and III. All results were included in calculating averages. Each test was conducted as specified in ASTM D-3574.
FTC measurements were conducted 45 seconds after demold. The pad was removed from the mold, weighed and placed in the FTC apparatus. The force detection device is equipped with a 2.2 kg capacity pressure transducer mounted between the 323 cm2 circular plate cross head and the drive shaft. The actual force is shown on a digital display. This device mimics the ASTM D-3574, Indentation Force Deflection Test and provides a numerical value of freshly demolded foam's initial hardness or softness. The pad was compressed to 50 percent of its original thickness at a cross-head velocity of 275 mm per minute with the force necessary to achieve the highest compression cycle recorded in Newtons. Ten compression cycles were completed. A cycle takes approximately 30 seconds to complete.
aThe carriers are added to TEDA (33 wt % TEDA, 67 wt % carrier) and BDMAEE (70 wt % BDMAEE, 30 wt % carrier) at the same levels as those of the DPG control in the commercial 33LV and BL-11 products to facilitate direct comparison. Disregarding the carriers, the active amounts of the TEDA (0.107 pphp) and BDMAEE (0.056 pphp) catalysts are the same in each catalyst composition.
The data in Table II demonstrate that using Catalysts 1 or 2 provided higher airflow and lower force to crush than when compared to the Catalyst control having DPG carrier in making TDI foams. In most cases the force to crush is lower on the first cycle and becomes lower than the control no later than the fourth cycle. It is also known to be difficult to improve tear strength without significant deterioration in resilience. Catalysts 1 and 2 provided up to 10% improvement in tear with no more than 5% loss in resilience, without significantly altering other important physical properties.
In this example MDI polyurethane foams were prepared in a conventional manner. Table I lists the catalyst compositions and Table III lists the physical properties obtained using the catalysts from Table I in conjunction with carriers of this invention and a dipropylene glycol control, not of this invention. The polyurethane formulations in parts by weight were:
The data in Table III demonstrate that using Catalysts 1 or 2 provided higher airflow and/or lower force to crush than when compared to the Catalyst control DPG carrier/diluent in making MDI foams. In both cases the force to crush is lower on the first cycle. Catalysts 1 and 2 provided up to 9% improvement in tear with no more than 3% loss in resilience, without significantly altering other important physical properties.
Unexpectedly, Tables II and III demonstrate that foam physical properties can be systematically varied by choosing tertiary amine catalysts in combination with MPDiol and optionally alkanols including 2-ethyl-1-hexanol. Specifically, physical properties which can be significantly altered are force-to-crush, airflow and tears.
