Development of Antimicrobial Polyurethane Foam for Automotive Seat

Polyurethane flexible foams have been widely used for automotive seat cushions because of the cushioning performance. It has been required so far to improve the polyurethane foam’s performances such as reducing the density and improving the static, dynamic vibration properties. Additionally, improving the functional properties such as antimicrobial properties are also considered important these days. In this article, new antimicrobial polyurethane foams for automotive seat with urushiol or cardanol extracted from a natural lacquer were prepared. Influences of agent’s concentration on the reactivity between polyol and isocyanate, mechanical properties of foams were investigated. It was observed that the urethane formation reaction was delayed a little when the amount of agent was increased. However, it was found that the mechanical properties of antimicrobial foams made using agent were similar to those of the neat polyurethane foam. In terms of antibacterial property, the foams prepared with agent showed better performance than the neat polyurethane foam.