Novel promising way to synthesize non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) for innovative coating applications against corrosion protection of metal surfaces

Polyurethanes (PUs) are one of the most widely used polymeric materials with applications in automotive, as sealants, adhesives, decorative, aircraft topcoats, for coatings or as foams for thermal and/or acoustic insulation. Industrially, PUs are produced by copolymerization between polyols and polyisocyanates. Because of the toxicity issues related to the use of isocyanates, there is a need to develop greener and safer route to produce such polymers.
This study reports on the synthesis of new sustainable isocyanates-free PU (NIPU) coatings for aluminium anticorrosion. In a first step, bio- and CO2-sourced cyclic carbonates monomers were synthesized by coupling of epoxydized vegetable oils with CO2 using a new efficient bicomponent organocatalyst. In second step formulations including cyclic carbonates/amines/additives were optimized to produce highly adhesive cross-linked NIPU coatings that show good resistance against solvents and long-term barriers preventing the corrosion of the aluminiumsubstrate