User-friendly, even for those with limited knowledge of chemistry, it contains clear details of processing, applications, and safety. New to this edition is an appendix covering the considerable progress that has taken place since 1987, including the development of alternatives for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and the advent of polyurea elastomers.

Publisher Description

A practical handbook rather than merely a chemistry reference, Szycher's Handbook of Polyurethanes, Second Edition offers an easy-to-follow compilation of crucial new information on polyurethane technology, which is irreplaceable in a wide range of applications. This new edition of a bestseller is an invaluable reference for technologists, marketers, suppliers, and academicians who require cutting-edge, commercially valuable data on the most advanced uses for polyurethane, one of the most important and complex specialty polymers. internationally recognized expert Dr. Michael Szycher updates his bestselling industry "bible" With seven entirely new chapters and five that are revised and updated, this book summarizes vital contents from U.S. patent literature—one of the most comprehensive sources of up-to-date technical information. These patents illustrate the most useful technology discovered by corporations, universities, and independent inventors. Because of the wealth of information they contain, this handbook features many full-text patents, which are carefully selected to best illustrate the complex principles involved in polyurethane chemistry and technology. Features of this landmark reference include: Hundreds of practical formulations Discussion of the polyurethane history, key terms, and commercial importance An in-depth survey of patent literature Useful stoichiometric calculations The latest "green" chemistry applications A complete assessment of medical-grade polyurethane technology Not biased toward any one supplier’s expertise, this special reference uses a simplified language and layout and provides extensive study questions after each chapter. It presents rich technical and historical descriptions of all major polyurethanes and updated sections on medical and biological applications. These features help readers better understand developmental, chemical, application, and commercial aspects of the subject.

This book, cohesively written by an expert author with supreme breadth and depth of perspective on polyurethanes, provides a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the science and technology on one of the most commonly produced plastics. Covers the applications, manufacture, and markets for polyurethanes, and discusses analytical methods, reaction mechanisms, morphology, and synthetic routes Provides an up-to-date view of the current markets and trend analysis based on patent activity and updates chapters to include new research Includes two new chapters on PU recycling and PU hybrids, covering the opportunities and challenges in both

This book considers the raw materials used to build the polyurethane polymeric architecture. It covers the chemistry and technology of oligo-polyol fabrication, the characteristics of the various oligo-polyol families and the effects of the oligo-polyol structure on the properties of the resulting polyurethane. It presents the details of oligo-polyol synthesis, and explains the chemical and physico-chemical subtleties of oligo-polyol fabrication. This book will be of interest to all specialists working with polyols for the manufacture of polyurethanes and to all researchers that would like to know more about polyol chemistry.