Tosoh received the Encouragement Award at the 23rd Green Sustainable Chemistry Awards (GSC Awards) sponsored by the Japan Association for Chemical Technology Promotion Green Sustainable Chemistry Network Conference (JACI GSCN Conference). The technology that won the award is "Low-temperature curing blocked isocyanate."

Blocked isocyanates, in which the isocyanate (-N=C=O) group is protected with a blocking agent, are used as curing agents for polyurethane paints. The blocking agent is dissociated by heating and the curing reaction begins, so there is no limit to the pot life *1 and it can be easily applied.
In recent years, as the global trend toward decarbonization has accelerated, there has been an increasing demand for reducing thermal energy in the painting process to suppress CO2 emissions, and there is a demand for blocked isocyanates that cure at lower temperatures. However, there was an issue that lowering the curing temperature would cause the curing reaction to proceed even at room temperature, limiting the pot life.

To address these issues, Tosoh has focused on dissociation catalysts for blocking agents, discovered a combination of a temperature-sensitive amine catalyst and a blocking agent, and developed a low-temperature curing blocked isocyanate that can be cured at 80°C. Currently, we are developing applications for this product, such as in automotive painting, where the transition to an environmentally friendly process is an issue, and for materials with low heat resistance, such as wood and plastic.

The Encouragement Award is given to "achievements that are expected to contribute to the promotion of GSC in the future." Encouraged by receiving this Encouragement Award, our company will continue to conduct research and development with the aim of contributing to a carbon-neutral society.