Hi Folks,
I've just started a PhD, which initially involves the synthesis of some soft viscoelastic polyurethane foams. However, I've not been having much luck. I've been trawling through the literature for formulations of such foams but anything I've found has been vague with respect to specific formulation ingredients.
I've made a few 'water blown' foams (I hope this is the correct terminology) using MDI prepolymer, Voranol polyols, DABCO and DBTL catalysts and a silicone surfactant. The foams so far have looked promising initially but ended up being sticky and in some cases they looked like they collapsed?? - so I'm going back to the drawing board.
My understanding is that for a soft viscoelastic foam I need a polyol with a high OH value and an average functionality of about 2.5. However, I have no Idea how molecular weight relates to softness. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me understand the fundamental relationship between the foam additives and softness of the foam (while still retaining viscoelasticity). Any suggestions for a formulation for a really soft PU foam ?
I know that I haven't quantified what I mean by 'soft' but I've been looking at PU earplug materials, which are close to what I need but I'd like to make a range of softness even softer than the PU earplugs.
Anyways, I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me out or recommend appropriate literature sources or textbooks.
Kind regards,
Gillian