Process for preparing polyurethane foam

In a process for preparing a polyurethane foam according to the one-shot foaming process by reactions between a polyisocyanate and an active hydrogen-containing component including water and an organic polyol in the presence of a catalyst, a surfactant and optional crosslinker, the improvement comprising conducting said reactions in the presence of a salt which consists of a tertiary amine reacted with a carboxylic acid having hydroxyl functionality as a catalyst, said salt being present in an amount sufficient to reduce foam shrinkage;

• wherein the tertiary amine is selected from the group consisting of bis (N,N-dimethylaminoethyl) ether;
• 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane and mixtures thereof, and wherein the carboxylic acid has the formula:
• (HO).sub.n --R--(COOH).sub.m
• wherein R is an at least divalent hydrocarbon moiety having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, m and n are integers each separately having a value of at least 1.

In a process for preparing a polyurethane foam according to the one-shot foaming process by reactions between a polyisocyanate and an active hydrogen-containing component including water and an organic polyol in the presence of a catalyst, a surfactant and optional crosslinker, the improvement comprising conducting said reactions in the presence of a salt which consists of a tertiary amine reacted with a carboxylic acid having hydroxyl functionality as a catalyst, said salt being present in an amount sufficient to reduce the force needed to mechanically crush the foam;

• wherein the tertiary amine is selected from the group consisting of bis (N,N-dimethylaminoethyl) ether;
• 1,4,-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, and mixtures thereof, and wherein the carboxylic acid has the formula:
• (HO).sub.n --R--(COOH).sub.m
• wherein R is an at least divalent hydrocarbon moiety having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, m and n are integers each separately having a value of at least 1.