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Since polyol is one of the major components in polyurethane foam synthesis, introducing renewably sourced polyols in the foam formulation leads to materials with high renewable carbon content. A series of flexible polyurethane foams with variations in polyol composition were synthesized with castor oil based Lupranol Balance ® 50 polyether polyol and corn based polytrimethylene ether glycol mixtures. Water was used as the unique and eco-friendly blowing agent. The effect of the relative amount of each polyol on the structure and properties was analyzed by optical microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, tensile and compressive tests, dynamic mechanical analysis and atomic force microscopy. The average molecular weight and hydroxyl number of the polyol components showed to influence the foaming reaction and hence the structure and properties of the polyurethane foam. The newly developed peak force quantitative nano-mechanics technique was used to map the elastic modulus values of foam cell struts and it seemed to be adequate to assess the purity of the different phases.

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a b s t r a c tLow-density polyethylene was filled with unmodified and fatty acid (hexanoic, dodecanoic, octadecanoic and docosanoic acids) esterified cellulose fibers. The thermal and mechanical properties, morphology and the water absorption behavior of the ensuing composites were investigated. The chemical modification of the cellulose fibers with fatty acids clearly improved the interfacial adhesion with the matrix and hence the mechanical properties of the composites and decreased their water uptake capacity. The performance of the composites was strongly affected by the degree of substitution (DS) and the fatty chain length as indicated by the fact that esterified cellulose fibers with low DS gave composites with better mechanical properties.

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