Competition between CO 2 -philicity and Mixing Entropy Leads to CO 2 Solubility Maximum in Polyether Polyols.

In carbon dioxide-blown polymer foams, the solubility of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) in the polymer profoundly shapes the structure and, consequently, the physical properties of the foam. One such foam is polyurethane-commonly used for thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, and cushioning-which increasingly relies on CO ₂ to replace environmentally harmful blowing agents. Polyurethane is produced through the reaction of isocyanate and polyol, of which the polyol has the higher capacity for dissolving CO ₂ . While previous studies have suggested the importance of the effect of hydroxyl end groups on CO ₂ solubility in short polyols (<1000 g/mol), their effect in polyols with higher molecular weight (≥1000 g/mol) and higher functionality (>2 hydroxyls per chain)-as are commonly used in polyurethane foams-has not been reported. Here, we show that the solubility of CO ₂ in polyether polyols decreases with molecular weight above 1000 g/mol and decreases with functionality using measurements performed by gravimetry-axisymmetric drop-shape analysis. The nonmonotonic effect of molecular weight on CO ₂ solubility results from the competition between effects that reduce CO ₂ solubility (lower mixing entropy) and effects that increase CO ₂ solubility (lower ratio of hydroxyl end groups to ether backbone groups). To generalize our measurements, we modeled the CO ₂ solubility using a perturbed chain-statistical associating fluid theory (PC-SAFT) model, which we validated by showing that a density functional theory model based on the PC-SAFT free energy accurately predicted the interfacial tension.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.
(© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)