8th Liquid Matter Conference September 6-10, 2011 Wien, Austria ...

Fri 911:10-14:00P4.57Tannin-based organic foams and their characterizationby Raman spectroscopyGianluca Tondi, 1 Alexander Petutschnigg, 1 Martin Demker, 2 and Maurizio Musso 21 FHS- University of Applied Science, 136a Marktstra, 5431, Kuchl, Austria2 University of Salzburg, Salzburg, AustriaTannin-based organic foams are new foam materials which are environmentally friendly, resistantto fire and inexpensive, and intended to be used for building insulation, and also as water absorberor shock absorber. These foams can be produced via an acid catalyzed polycondensation reactionbetween condensed flavonoids and furfuryl alcohol [1-2]. Several studies deal with the mechanisminvolved in this process [3], but some ambiguities still persist. Raman spectroscopy is ananalytical technique suitable for the non-destructive chemical investigation of polymers, allowingto determine the presence of functional groups within a polymer through the interaction of laserlight with the vibrational modes of the molecules setting up the sample under investigation [4]. Byt his spectroscopic technique we have characterized the tannin-based foams and compared theirspectral signature with that of tannins, and of polymerized furfuryl alcohol [5]. Similarities anddifferences to the spectral features of carbonaceous material are discussed. [1] Tondi G. , Zhao W., Pizzi A. , Du G. , Fierro V. , Celzard A. , Bioresources Technology 100, 5162 (2009) [2] TondiG. , Fierro V. , Pizzi A. , Celzard A. , Carbon 47, 1480 (2009) [3] Gandini A. , Polym. Chem. 1,245 (2010) [4] M. A. Amer, Raman Spectroscopy for Soft Matter Applications, Wiley, Hoboken(2009) [5] S. Bertarione, F. Bonino, F. Cesano, S. Jain, M. Zanetti, D. Scarano, and A. Zecchina,J. Phys. Chem. B 113, 10571 (2009)57