THERMAL CHARACTERIZATIONS OF POLYMER COMPOSITE MATERIALS POLYURETHANE FOAM-CHITIN

Abstract

The problem of replacing food packaging made from synthetic polymers with biodegradable films based on natural materials is highly relevant and associated with general environmental degradation. Therefore, the trend of using natural polymers to partially or entirely replace petroleum-based materials is exciting and attended by many scientists. In this work, chitin (Ct) with sizes of 1–3 mm (CtS) and 5–10 mm (CtL) was filled into polyurethane foam (PU) to obtain polymer composite materials (PCM) PU-chitin (PU-Ct). The thermal properties (high-temperature resistance, heat-insulating ability, flammability) of the obtained PCMs were evaluated. The results showed that the chitin filling to the PU and the size of the filler did not significantly affect the high-temperature resistance of PU-Ct. The heat resistance of PU-St was similar to the PU without filler but significantly higher than that of chitin. In the case of semi-rigid materials, the higher the filling ratio, the higher the coefficient of thermal conductivity. Semi-rigid materials containing 10% mass chitin had a thermal conductivity commensurate with the original PU. The size of the filler had not affected the thermal insulation of the obtained material. Meanwhile, the filling of chitin to the elastic PU (FPU) reduced the thermal conductivity of the developed PCM. Increasing the degree of chitin filler in PU increased the flammability of PCM compared with the original PU but decreased compared with chitin. There was no significant effect of chitin size on the flammability of PU-Ct. Thus, semi-rigid PU materials containing 10% by mass of chitin were recommended to replace the original semi-rigid PU as insulating materials. The FPU-Ct was recommended for use in fields that require low or medium insulation. For citation: Tran Y.D.T., Zenitova L.A., Hoang T.D., Do T.H., Cuong V.T. Thermal characterizations of polymer composite materials polyurethane foam-chitin. ChemChemTech [Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Khim. Khim. Tekhnol.]. 2023. V. 66. N 6. P. 111-122. DOI: 10.6060/ivkkt.20236606.6719.