Polyurethane coating has a history stretching back more than 50 years: in 1957, Otto Bayer and his co-workers realized that alkyd resins could be modified by means of diisocyanates to provide coatings with significantly improved properties. Today, polyurethane coating systems have established themselves in a variety of applications.
The breakthrough of polyurethane coating
The breakthrough for polyurethanes in the coatings area came when low-monomer poly-isocyanates were developed and introduced. Since then, polyurethane coatings, also known under asDD coatings (Desmodur® and Desmophen®), have undergone rapid market development.
The beginnings of polyurethane chemistry
Polyurethane chemistry began in 1937 when H. Rinke first prepared 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and Otto Bayer developed the diisocyanate polyaddition process. Initial work in the 1940s focused on polyurethane fibers. The first polyurethane foams were produced as novel materials a little later.
Continued above-average growth is also expected in coming decades. The reason for this lies in the considerable potential for innovation with polyurethane coatings.
This article was adapted and translated from a contribution to the "Aktuelle Wochenschau", an online periodical of the German Association of Chemists "Gesellschaft deutscher Chemiker". By Dr. Reinhard Halpaap, Dr. Ulrich Meier-Westhues and Dr. Frank Richter, Bayer MaterialScience AG.
