Polyurethane Components

The polymeric materials known as polyurethanes form a family of polymers which are essentially different from most other plastics in that there is no urethane monomer and the polymer is almost invariably created during the manufacture of a particular object.

Polyurethanes are made by the exothermic reactions between alcohols with two or more reactive hydroxyl (-OH) groups per molecule (diols, triols, polyols) and isocyanates that have more than one reactive isocyanate group (-NCO) per molecule (diisocyanates, polyisocyanates).  For example a diisocyanate reacts with a diol: