DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v28i1.254

Keywords: Lignin, polyurethane, curing performance, FTIR. Biocoating

Abstract

The second-most prevalent polymer in nature, lignin has a complicated structure made up of various amount of aliphatic and phenolic hydroxides. In recent years, extensive research was conducted to explore lignin's potential as a polyol source for the synthesis of polyurethanes (PUs), in an effort to improve the sustainability of polyurethanes by substituting renewable resources for petroleum-based ones. However, the curing process of lignin reinforced polyurethanes posed a crucial challenge in understanding and optimizing their final properties. The complex structure of lignin, with its variety of functional groups, could affect the polyurethane's overall performance and curing performance. Therefore, synthesizing lignin reinforced polyurethane with vary lignin content and effect towards curing analysis of the resulting lignin reinforced polyurethane were investigated. In this study, reinforced polyurethane was made by reacting lignin ranging from 0, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100% with polyethylene glycol and isophorone diisocyanate. All lignin reinforced polyurethane uncured and cured samples were evaluated and characterized using FTIR. The research results indicated that polyurethane with 50% lignin content with 60 minutes curing time were discovered to have the best qualities overall. The outcome of this study emphasized lignin's potential as a sustainable renewable resource for polyurethane synthesis and demonstrated that an optimal balance of lignin content and curing time could enhance the performance and sustainability of polyurethane.