chemistry question #2248

Bruce MacKinnon, CET, a 38 year old male from Kitchener, Ont asks on September 16, 2004,

Q:

Is polyol used in the reaction of isocyantes (methylene diioscyante) the same compound as Glycerol?
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the answer

Reg Mitchell answered on September 20, 2004, A:

Not necessarily. Methylene di-isocyanate reacts with any alcohol to form a a carbamate (urethane). If the alcohol is a diol, i.e. HO-organic-OH then a linear polymer is formed -[-CH2-NH-CO-O-organic-O-CO-NH-]n. If a polyol (more than two -OH groups, e.g. glycerol has three) then a polymer in three dimensions will be formed. So 'polyol" could be glycerol, but any organic with enough -OH groups could be used.

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