Bionanocomposite hybrid polyurethane (BHPU) foams that exploit the tribute of natural fibers and nanoclay in green PU foam can lead to the new imminent in engaging the nanoclay and natural fibers. PU filled empty fruit bunch (EFB), PU filled silane treated EFB (sEFB) and PU filled organo montmorillonite (oMMT) have been prepared as control, and the hybridization has carried out for 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 ratios between EFB/oMMT and sEFB/oMMT. The hybridization of these natural fibers and oMMT permit to retain the strength without compromise the stiffness of BHPU. The hybridization also improves the barrier and thermal properties of these BHPU. Microscopic studies shows that the hybridization of these natural fibers and nanoclay provide initial evidence of the possibilities on the insertion of nanoclay into the natural fibers, thus open the opportunities to exploit this behavior to another hybrid system.

Reactive nanoclay reinforced hyperbranched polyurethane (HPU) nanocomposites have been synthesized with the introduction of palm oil polyol as part of the precursor. The HPU were prepared in a two-step process using polycaprolactonediol, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol as chain extender. Nanoclay was added with the purpose of improving the properties of the pristine polyurethane. The introduction of palm oil polyol is believed to enhance the mixing process between polymer matrix and filler. Thermal, mechanical and shape memory properties of produced HPU were investigated. The results showed that the crystallinity of HPU nanocomposites decreased with introduction of clay particles and that the mechanical and shape memory properties were enhanced with the addition of small amount of reactive nanoclay (up to 3 wt%). � (2012) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

Shape memory polyurethanes (SMPU) are one of the advanced materials that have potential applications in the field of biomedical particularly vascular stent. This paper studies the effect of incorporating palm oil polyol (POP) up to 40% molar ratio in place of petroleum-based polyol in the preparation of SMPU due to environmental concern. Polycaprolactone diol was utilized as the soft segment while 4,4?-diphenylmethane diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol as the hard segments. The SMPU was prepared using two-step prepolymer method, and the fabricated samples were characterized to study the effect of POP on the thermal properties, tensile, and shape memory behavior of polyurethane. The results obtained have shown that SMPU with incorporation of POP showed good shape fixity (100%) and elongation at break (245%) up to 20% molar ratio of POP. The presence of dangling chains of fatty acid in POP was believed to enhance the flexibility of SMPU molecular chains by acting as a plasticizer. On the other hand, the shape recovery of SMPU remains high even at 40% molar ratio of POP, and the thermal stability of SMPU increased with the addition of POP. It is proposed that the synthesized POP-based SMPU is a suitable candidate for cardiovascular stent as they possessed desired thermal, mechanical, and shape memory properties. � 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A series of nanoclay reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane with shape memory effect have been successfully synthesized via two-step polymerization process. The polyurethanes are composed of polycaprolactonediol, palm oil polyol, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol. Nanoclay was added in order to improve the overall properties of the pristine polyurethane. Besides, the addition of palm oil polyol is believed to enhance the crosslinking process and further improve the properties. X-ray diffraction result showed that there is a decrease in crystallinity of polyurethane nanocomposites as clay is added. Good shape memory and mechanical properties of resulting polyurethane nanocomposites were obtained in this work. � (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

Effect of organically modified nanoclay on thermal and mechanical properties of palm oil polyol (POP) based polyurethane (PU) were investigated. Thermoplastic PU elastomer was synthesized utilizing polycaprolactonediol (PCL), POP, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4-butanediol (BD) as chain extender via two-step prepolymer process in bulk. The amount of clay added is between 1 to 5 wt%. The produced nanocomposites were subjected to thermal and mechanical characterization which includes thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and tensile test. The results obtained showed improved thermal stability and tensile properties of PU nanocomposites upon addition of clay content. � 2016 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.