The invention provides polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams and methods for the preparation thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to closed-celled, polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams and methods for their preparation. The foams are characterized by a fine uniform cell structure and little or no foam collapse. The foams are produced with a polyol premix composition which comprises a combination of a hydrohaloolefin blowing agent, a polyol, a silicone surfactant, and a non-amine catalyst used alone or in combination with an amine catalyst.

A (super)hydrophobic isocyanate based organic aerogel/xerogel/cryogel having a water contact angle of at least 90° comprising: a cross-linked porous network structure made of polyurethane and/or polyisocyanurate and/or polyurea, and hydrophobic compounds having before the gelling step at least one isocyanate-reactive group and no isocyanate groups
Characterized in that said hydrophobic compounds are covalently bonded within the porous network of the aerogel/xerogel/cryogel and wherein said bondings are created during the gelling step of the formation of the isocyanate based organic aerogel/xerogel/cryogel cross-linked porous network structure.

A method can be used for manufacturing one or more bodies made of a porous material derived from precursors of the porous material in a sol-gel process. The method involves filling precursors of the porous material into a mold defining the shape of the body, where the precursors include at least two reactive components and a solvent, and forming a gel body. The step is then repeated so as to form several gel bodies. The gel bodies are then removed from the mold after a predetermined time in which the gel bodies are formed from the precursors of the porous material. The gel bodies are arranged adjacent to one another, a spacer is provided between two adjacent gel bodies so as to provide a clearance therebetween, and the solvent is then removed from the gel bodies.

Described herein is a process for preparing a polyurethane-polyisocyanurate compound by mixing a) at least one polyisocyanate; b) a mixture (M); c) at least one compound including one or more epoxide groups; d) at least one aliphatic polyol (P1) having a high weight average molecular weight; e) at least one polyol (P2) having a low weight average molecular weight; f) at least one compatibilizer; and, optionally, g) fillers and further additives to form a reaction mixture (RM); and reacting the mixture (RM) to give the polyurethane-polyisocyanurate compound. Also described herein are a polyurethane-polyisocyanurate compound obtainable by the process and a method of using the polyurethane-polyisocyanurate compound for producing bodywork components for vehicles.

A process for producing rigid PUR/PIR foams via the reaction of a reaction mixture comprising A1 an isocyanate-reactive component, A2 a flame retardant, A3 a blowing agent, A4 a catalyst, and A5 optionally auxiliaries and additives with B an organic polyisocyanate component. Component A1 comprises a diurethane diol A1.1 and a compound A1.2 selected from the group consisting of polyether polyol, polyester polyol, polyether carbonate polyol, and polyether ester polyol. Also disclosed is a rigid PUR/PIR foam, an insulating material, a composite element, and a mixture.

Polyisocyanurate (PIR) and/or polyurethane (PUR) comprising insulation foams having significantly improved long term insulation values are disclosed as well as a processing method to fabricate said improved insulation foams and use of the improved insulation foams for thermal insulation.

This disclosure relates generally to a moisture curable composition. The composition includes a first, crosslinkable copolymer having a plurality of silyl alkoxy terminal groups and a backbone that is the reaction product of a diisocyanate and a mixture of a low molecular weight polyether polyol and a high molecular weight polyether polyol; a second crosslinkable oligomer having a plurality of silyl alkoxy terminal groups and a backbone that is the reaction product of a diisocyanate and a low molecular weight polyether polyol; and a third crosslinkable oligomer having a plurality of silyl alkoxy terminal groups and a backbone that is the reaction product of a diisocyanate and a high molecular weight polyether polyol.

A process for producing a polyurethane or polyisocyanurate construction board, the process comprising (i) providing an A-side reactant stream that includes an isocyanate-containing compound; (ii) providing a B-side reactant stream that includes a polyol and a physical blowing agent, where the physical blowing agent includes pentane, butane, and optionally a blowing agent additive that has a Hansen Solubility Parameter (δ.sub.t) that is greater than 17 MPa.sup.−0.5; and (iii) mixing the A-side reactant stream with the B-side reactant stream to produce a reaction mixture.

The invention provides polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams and methods for the preparation thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to open-celled, polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams and methods for their preparation. The foams are characterized by a fine uniform cell structure and little or no foam collapse. The foams are produced with a polyol premix composition which comprises a combination of a hydrohaloolefin blowing agent, a polyol, a silicone surfactant, and a sterically hindered amine catalyst.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing polyurethanes by mixing a) polyisocyanate, b) a mixture obtainable by introducing an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salt into a compound comprising urethane groups, c) compounds comprising one or more epoxide groups, and, optionally, d) polyol, e) chain extenders, and f) fillers and further additives to form a reaction mixture and fully reacting the mixture to give the polyurethane, where the amount of alkali metal or alkaline earth metal ions per equivalent urethane groups in the compound (b) is 0.0001 to 3.5. The present invention further relates to a polyurethane obtainable by such a process, and to the use of such a polyurethane for producing bodywork components for vehicles.