Constructing polyurethane foams of strong mechanical property and thermostability by two novel environment friendly bio-based polyols

Two novel cardanol-based polyols were synthesized and used to construct polyurethane (PU) foams. The cardanol-based polyols with high reactivity were obtained from the epoxidation of cardanol, followed by the ring opening reaction of epoxy group with diethanolamine (DEA). Subsequently, PU foams were synthesized by these cardanolbased polyols. Compared with petroleum-based (PEG) PU foams, these green cardanol-based PU foams exhibit better mechanical property and higher thermostability. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests show that the cells of cardanol-based PU foams are monodisperse, with fairly uniform spherical shape and regular size.