"Customized Performance Solutions" for High-End PU Products

Empowering Performance Upgrades of PU Products in Oil Well, Construction Machinery, and Industrial Conveying Sectors

As a special symmetric aromatic diol chain extender, Diol-HCA™HQEE takes hydroquinone-bis(β-hydroxyethyl) ether as its core component. Leveraging its excellent compatibility with MDI, it can significantly enhance the key physical properties of polyurethane (PU) elastomers at the molecular level. Specifically designed for scenarios with stringent requirements on product strength, hardness, and weather resistance, it is commonly used in oil well seals, forklift tires, hydraulic cylinder seals, PU conveyor belts, skateboard wheels, shock absorbers, stamping die cushions, and other fields. It serves as a core raw material for improving product quality in the high-end PU industry chain.

I. Accurate Matching of High Performance with Scenario Requirements

Based on its product characteristics, the elastomeric system formed by the "HQEE/MDI" pairing can accurately address the core pain points of PU products in different industries, and its performance advantages are directly translated into scenario application value.

1. Oil Well Seals

Core scenario requirements: The downhole environment of oil wells is complex, featuring significant temperature fluctuations (prone to brittleness at low temperatures and softening at high temperatures), high formation pressure (which may cause seal tearing), and corrosion by oil and gas media (which may lead to seal failure). Seals are required to maintain structural stability and sealing performance for a long time.

High-performance features:

Significantly improved tensile strength, which can effectively resist the risk of tearing under high pressure and prevent damage to the sealing structure;

Excellent resistance to high and low temperatures, enabling adaptation to the complex temperature environment downhole without brittleness at low temperatures or softening at high temperatures;

Good compatibility with oil and gas media, less prone to swelling, ensuring long-term stable sealing performance and reducing the risk of leakage.

2. Forklift Tires (PU Solid Tires)

Core scenario requirements: Forklifts need to frequently carry heavy loads of 1-10 tons and undergo high-frequency steering friction in workshops. Tires must simultaneously meet the requirements of "high-hardness load-bearing" (to prevent deformation) and "fatigue-resistant resilience" (to reduce rolling resistance), while also having high wear resistance to extend service life and reduce replacement frequency.

High-performance features:

Outstanding hardness advantage, compared with the traditional "1,4-butanediol/MDI" system, its hardness is improved, enabling it to stably carry heavy loads without easy deformation;

High resilience, it can quickly resume its original shape after compression, reducing tire rolling resistance and improving forklift operation efficiency;

Significantly enhanced wear resistance, the tread wear rate is greatly reduced, which can extend the tire service life by more than 30% and lower enterprise operation and maintenance costs.

3. Hydraulic Cylinder Seals

Core scenario requirements: Hydraulic cylinders (such as those in construction machinery) need to perform high-frequency reciprocating motions. Seals must withstand high pressure of 10-30MPa (which may cause compressive deformation) and undergo long-term friction with metal components (which may cause surface wear). They are required to maintain a low compression deformation rate and high wear resistance to prevent increased sealing gaps from causing leakage.

High-performance features:

Low compression deformation rate, it can still maintain its original sealing shape after long-term compression, preventing seal failure due to deformation;

Excellent surface wear resistance, it can reduce frictional wear on the contact surface with metals and extend the service cycle of seals;

Good dimensional stability, no significant expansion or contraction occurs under temperature changes, ensuring the sealing gap always meets requirements and guaranteeing leak-free operation of the hydraulic system.

4. Industrial Conveyer Belts (PU Conveyer Belts)

Core scenario requirements: Industrial conveyer belts need to transport materials such as ores and packaged goods for a long time, undergo repeated stretching and bending between rollers (prone to breakage), and may be exposed to environments such as cold chain low temperatures and mine humidity (prone to aging). They are required to have high tear resistance, a wide temperature resistance range, and high aging resistance.

High-performance features:

Improved tensile strength: compared with ordinary PU conveyer belts, its tensile strength is increased, and tear resistance is significantly enhanced, preventing cracks caused by sharp edges of materials or tensile forces;

Adaptability to various complex working conditions: it does not harden at low temperatures or soften at high temperatures, making it suitable for cold chains, mines, and other scenarios;

Good aging resistance: no significant performance degradation occurs when exposed to air and humid environments for a long time, extending the belt replacement cycle and reducing the risk of production line shutdowns.

II. Core Support for High Performance

As a special symmetric aromatic diol chain extender, the working mechanism of Diol-HCA™HQEE revolves around "precise reaction with isocyanate (MDI) and performance empowerment by molecular structure". Its core lies in constructing a high-performance polyurethane (PU) elastomer structure through chemical reactions.

1. Core Reaction: Formation of Cross-Linked PU Elastomer Structure with MDI

It has good compatibility with MDI, and its work core is the chemical reaction between hydroxyl groups and isocyanate groups: the core component of Diol-HCA™HQEE, "hydroquinone-bis(β-hydroxyethyl) ether", contains two hydroxyl groups (-OH). During the PU preparation process, these hydroxyl groups undergo an addition reaction with the isocyanate groups (-NCO) in MDI molecules, gradually forming "polyurethane chain segments". As the reaction progresses, further cross-linking occurs between the segments, eventually forming a three-dimensional network PU elastomer structure. In this process, Diol-HCA™HQEE acts as a "chain extender", responsible for extending PU molecular chains and promoting cross-linking, laying the foundation for the physical properties of the elastomer.

2. Molecular Structure: Symmetric Aromatic Structure Empowers Performance Stability

Its "symmetric structure" is the key to improving the performance of PU elastomers: the symmetric aromatic molecular structure (hydroquinone backbone + dihydroxyethyl ether side chains) makes the arrangement of PU molecular chains formed by the reaction more regular, avoiding the "local chain segment looseness" problem that may be caused by asymmetric structures. The regular molecular arrangement can enhance the interaction force between chain segments, thereby improving the tensile strength, hardness, and fatigue resistance of the elastomer at the molecular level. This ensures that PU products are less prone to structural damage or performance degradation when subjected to force or temperature changes, and guarantees consistent overall performance of the products.

III. Conclusion

Diol-HCA™HQEE is not a general-purpose chain extender but a precise solution for "high-performance PU product scenarios". Based on a symmetric molecular structure, supported by key physical and chemical properties, and backed by excellent system compatibility, it accurately addresses the core pain points of PU products in oil well, construction machinery, industrial conveying, and other fields—such as insufficient strength, poor weather resistance, and short service life—through efficient compatibility with MDI. It provides core raw material support for the performance upgrade of high-end PU products and helps relevant industries improve product quality and market competitiveness.