What is Polyurethane?

Polyurethane (PU), also known as polyurea, is a high-performance polymer material formed through condensation reactions of polyols and diisocyanates, characterized by its strong plasticity. Tracing back to 1937, Professor Byaer first synthesized linear polyurethane resins using 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol as raw materials. The main categories of polyurethane include polyether, polyester, polyimide, and polyurea types, which can be processed into polyurethane plastics (mainly foamed plastics), polyurethane fibers (referred to as spandex in China), polyurethane rubber, and elastomers, among others.

After nearly eight decades of technological development, this material has been widely applied in products such as coatings, adhesives, fabric finishers, leather conditioners, polyurethane foams (both soft and hard), elastomers, etc. It is used in industries such as textiles, construction, aviation, shipping, transportation, and electronics. Soft polyurethane mainly features thermoplastic linear structures, offering better stability, chemical resistance, resilience, and mechanical properties compared to PVC foamed materials. It exhibits minimal compression deformation. It also has good heat insulation, soundproofing, shock resistance, and toxicity protection, making it suitable for packaging, soundproofing, and filtering materials. Rigid polyurethane plastics are lightweight, have excellent soundproofing and thermal insulation properties, are chemically resistant, possess good electrical properties, are easy to process, and have low water absorption rates. They are primarily used as structural materials in construction, automotive, and thermal insulation applications. Polyurethane elastomers have properties between plastics and rubbers, being oil-resistant, wear-resistant, low-temperature resistant, aging-resistant, with high hardness and elasticity. They are mainly used in the shoe-making industry and the medical field. Polyurethane can also be used to produce adhesives, coatings, artificial leather, and more.