Components for articles of footwear and athletic equipment including a foam are provided. The foam portion of the components and articles include a composition which includes a thermoplastic copolyester, the composition having a foam structure. A polymer layer is provided on at least on surface of the foam portion. The polymer layer can control or reduce the water uptake of the foam portion. Methods of making the compositions, foams, and components are provided, as well as methods of making an article of footwear including one of the foam components. In some aspects, the foams and foam components can be made by injection molding, or injection molding followed by compression molding.

Components for articles of footwear and athletic equipment including a foam are provided. The foam portion of the components and articles include a composition which includes a thermoplastic copolyester, the composition having a foam structure. A polymer layer is provided on at least on surface of the foam portion. The polymer layer can control or reduce the water uptake of the foam portion. Methods of making the compositions, foams, and components are provided, as well as methods of making an article of footwear including one of the foam components. In some aspects, the foams and foam components can be made by injection molding, or injection molding followed by compression molding.

Components for articles of footwear and athletic equipment including a foam are provided. The foam portion of the components and articles include a composition which includes a thermoplastic copolyester, the composition having a foam structure. A polymer layer is provided on at least on surface of the foam portion. The polymer layer can control or reduce the water uptake of the foam portion. Methods of making the compositions, foams, and components are provided, as well as methods of making an article of footwear including one of the foam components. In some aspects, the foams and foam components can be made by injection molding, or injection molding followed by compression molding.

A polyurethane elastomer composition of (a) an organic diisocyanate, (b) a polyester resin; (c) a chain extender comprised of a polyhydric alcohol, (d) a crosslinker, (e) a plasticizer, (f) a surfactant, (g) a blowing or foaming agent, and (h) an optional dye; and where the elastomer has, for example, a hardness value of, for example, from about 20 Asker C to about 60 Asker C, a tensile strength of, for example, from about 1 MPa to about 10 MPa, a resilience of, for example, from about 30 percent to about 60 percent, an elongation at break of from about 150 percent to about 700 percent, and a tear strength of, for example, from about 2 Newtons/millimeters.sup.2 to about 4 Newtons/millimeters.sup.2.

A polyurethane elastomer composition of (a) an organic diisocyanate, (b) a polyester resin; (c) a chain extender comprised of a polyhydric alcohol, (d) a crosslinker, (e) a plasticizer, (f) a surfactant, (g) a blowing or foaming agent, and (h) an optional dye; and where the elastomer has, for example, a hardness value of, for example, from about 20 Asker C to about 60 Asker C, a tensile strength of, for example, from about 1 MPa to about 10 MPa, a resilience of, for example, from about 30 percent to about 60 percent, an elongation at break of from about 150 percent to about 700 percent, and a tear strength of, for example, from about 2 Newtons/millimeters.sup.2 to about 4 Newtons/millimeters.sup.2.

A polyurethane foam is disclosed having unique load bearing characteristics rendering it suitable for a variety of applications. The foam exhibits high surface-softness and smoothness properties, making it well-suited for use in articles such as pillows and mattress toppers. However, upon continued application of pressure, the resilience of the foam increases sharply, translating into a remarkable support characteristics that make the foam suitable for use in the seat portions of chairs and sofas, as well as in the base portion of mattresses. The foams therefore address the limitations of conventional, high-resilience and visco-elastic polyurethane foams. A process of making the foam and its use in various articles is also disclosed.

Expandable thermoplastic polyurethane comprising blowing agent, wherein the Shore hardness of the thermoplastic polyurethane is from A 44 to A 84.

The invention relates to a process for preparing a dispersion of magnetizable particles in polyol by mechanical mixing of the magnetizable particles at a temperature in the range of from 80 to 260 C., preferably 100 to 220 C., more preferably 160 to 200 C. with a polyol selected from the group consisting of polyesterols or polyether ester polyols having an acid number in the range of from 0.1 to 3.0.

A method for producing a layered material, which has a substrate layer and a layer of polyurethane bonded to the substrate layer. A leather, preferably a sanded grain leather, a textile material, preferably a woven fabric or a knitted fabric, a bonded leather material, or a microfiber nonwoven is used as the substrate layer and is bonded to the layer. According to the present teaching, at least one, preferably a single, layer of frothed polyurethane foam is applied to the substrate as the layer.

A polyurethane catalyst comprises a sodium compound, the sodium compound being 1 to 60 wt % of the polyurethane catalyst by the mass percent, and further comprises a tertiary amine and/or pyridine compound. The sodium compound and the tertiary amine and/or pyridine compound achieve a synergistic effect; during the catalysis of the polymerization of isocyanate and polyalcohol, the speed of the polymerization reaction is increased; and the prepared polyurethane material has excellent physical properties, does not contain any heavy metal element at all, is an environment-friendly catalyst, solves the technical problem of ensuring environmental protection, safety and the catalytic efficiency of the polyurethane catalyst, and is particularly applicable to the preparation of polyurethane synthetic leather resin slurry, a polyurethane elastomer (prepolymer), a polyurethane coating, a polyurethane adhesive, a polyurethane composite material, flexible polyurethane foam, and a rigid polyurethane material.