Synthesis and Characterization of Cellular Polyurethane as Redox Catalyst

Abstract

Dyes are coloring materials used extensively in common consumer products. A large amount of dye effluent is produced mainly by textile industry. These dye effluents need remediation as they are damaging water bodies and biological organisms including human beings. Polyurethane is one of the potential materials which can be used to solve this problem. In this study, polyurethane was synthesized by a simple method using toluene diisocyanate (TDI), Polyethylene glycol (PEG; 1000 g/mol) and Butanediol (BDO). The synthesis was confirmed by the FTIR bands of –NH, C=O, C–N and C–O–C at 3390 cm-1, 1735 cm-1, 1420 cm-1 and 1094 cm-1, respectively. This synthesized material was applied in degradation of Methylene blue dye through reduction reaction which was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The color of the dye was removed 100% in just 7 min. Where, more than 70% dye was reduced in just first 3 mins. Consequently, synthesized material can be a potential catalyst in reduction processes.