Polyol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The name polyols refers to chemical compounds containing multiple hydroxyl groups. In two technological disciplines polyols have special meaning: food science and polymer chemistry. For information as it pertains to food ingredients, please see the article on sugar alcohols.
[edit] Polyols in food science
Sugar alcohols, a class of polyols, are commonly added to foods because of their lower caloric content than sugars; however they are also generally less sweet, and are often combined with high intensity sweeteners . They are also added to chewing gum because they are not metabolized (ie broken down) by bacteria in the mouth, so they do not contribute to tooth decay. Maltitol, sorbitol and Isomalt are some of the more common types. Sugar alcohols may be formed under mild reducing conditions from their analogue sugars.
[edit] Polyols in polymer chemistry
In polymer chemistry polyols are polymers or monomers with hydroxyl functional groups available for organic reactions. Polymeric polyols may be polyethers such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, or polytetrahydrofuran. Another class of polymeric polyols is the polyesters. A specialist class of polyol is the hydroxyl-terminated polybutadienes. These polyols are extensively used in formulations for polyurethanes. Monomeric polyols include pentaerythritol and glycerin.
