Polyurethane is a flexible and durable manufactured material that can take the place of many other products such as rubber, foam, wood, and paint. Polyurethane comes in many forms: hard like fiberglass, bouncy like rubber or sticky like a glue. Since its invention in the 1930s, polyurethane has been used in everything from toys, airplanes, and automobiles. The inventing of polyurethane polymers was started by Otto Bayer in 1937. His work focused on the production of fibers and flexible foams in the polymer. After WWII commercial production of flexible polyurethane foam began in 1954. The invention of these foams was all an accident when water accidentally spilled into the mix. These materials were also used to produce rigid foams, and gum rubber. Polyurethane solved a major problem for cars classified as “street cars”. In the stock motor and transmission mounts that are made of rubber break easily and wear out quickly. This is due to hard shifts and high vibration caused by excessive speed. Polyurethane motor and transmission mounts help reduce drive train flex caused by worn out rubber mounts. Polyurethane is also used in making solid tires. For things used in the industrial workplace including forklift wheels, grocery cart and, rollercoaster wheels. Modern day skateboarding became economical only with the introduction of tough, long lasting polyurethane parts, helping to usher in the permanent popularity. The durability of polyurethane wheels allowed the range of tricks and stunts performed on skateboards to expand considerably. Other types have been developed for pneumatic tires, and microcellular foam variants are widely used in tires on wheelchairs, bicycles and other such uses. These latter foam types are also widely found in car steering wheels and other interior and exterior car parts, including bumpers and fenders. Polyurethane products have multiple uses in today’s world. Over three quarters of the global consumption of polyurethane products is in the state of a foam, with flexible and rigid types. In both cases, the foam is usually behind other materials: flexible foams are behind upholstery fabrics in commercial and domestic furniture; rigid foams are inside the metal and plastic walls of most refrigerators and freezers, or behind paper, metals and other surface materials in the case of thermal insulation. Polyurethane is also used for moldings which include door frames, columns, window headers, and medallions.


^ Chemical Structure To make polyurethane polymers, two groups of at least bifunctional substances are needed as reactants; compounds with isocyanide groups, and compounds with active hydrogen atoms. The physical and chemical character, structure, and molecular size of these compounds determine the polymerization reaction, as well as difficulty of processing the final physical properties of polyurethane. Though adding a catalysts, surfactants, blowing agents, cross linkers, flame retardants, light stabilizers, and fillers are used to control and change the reaction process and performance of the polymer.