Quaternary hydroxyalkyl tertiary amine bases as polyurethane catalysts

Claim 1

A polyurethane catalyst composition for the polymerization of a polyol and an organic polyisocyanate which comprises a mixture of a tertiary amine selected from the group consisting of trimethylamine, triethylamine, tripropylamine, triisobutylamine and mixtures thereof and a quaternary hydroxyalkyl tertiary amine base prepared by reacting substantially stoichiometric amounts of water or a carbinol selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, benzyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol, allyl alcohol, phenol, octylphenol, nonylphenol, methylphenol, methoxyphenol, ethoxyphenol, 3-diethylamino phenol, naphthol, resorcinol, 1,4-hydroquinone, chlorophenols, chloronaphthols and p,p'-dihydroxydiphenyldimethylmethane; an alkylene oxide selected from the group consisting of propylene oxide, ethylene oxide, 1,2-butylene oxide, 1,2-pentene oxide, styrene oxide, butadiene epoxide, diepoxides prepared from p,p'-dihydroxydiphenyldimethylmethane and epichlorohydrin, an olefin oxide having 9-14 carbon atoms and mixtures thereof; and a tertiary amine selected from the group consisting of trimethylamine, triethylamine, tripropylamine, triisobutylamine and mixtures thereof, wherein the tertiary amine in said composition is present in a catalytic amount of up to 50% by weight of the composition.