Thermal stability of chemically crosslinked moisture‐cured polyurethane coatings

Polyurethane prepolymers are widely used in reactive hot melt adhesives and moisture‐cured coatings. The segmented moisture‐cured formulations, based on polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG‐1000)/trimethylol propane (TMP)/isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and PTMG/TMP/toluene diisocyanate (TDI), were prepared with NCO/OH ratio of 1.6 : 1.0. The excess isocyanate groups of the prepolymers were chain extended in the ratio of 2 : 1 (NCO/OH) with different aliphatic diols and 4 : 1 with different aromatic diamines. The surplus isocyanate groups of the formulations were completely reacted with atmospheric moisture, and the thermal stability of the postcured materials obtained as cast films were evaluated by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. It was observed that initial degradation temperatures were above 270°C, with two‐ or three‐step degradation profiles. The degradation parameters were evaluated using the Broido and Coats–Redfern methods. The thermal resistance of moisture‐cured formulations using diisocyanates with the cycloaliphatic structures (IPDI) and the aromatic TDI, at the same NCO/OH ratio (1.6), and TMP content were compared from the isothermal TG experiments at different temperatures and dynamic TG experiments at different heating rates in nitrogen and oxygen environments. The observation suggests that polyurethane‐containing sulfone groups and straight‐chain diol chain extenders were more stable. It was also observed that at lower temperature polyurethane, prepared from aliphatic diisocyanates (IPDI), was more stable than the aromatic diisocyanate (TDI) containing polyurethanes. At high temperature, the stability order follows the reverse trend. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 1509–1518, 2005     

Thermal and dynamic mechanical characterization of polyurethane–urea–imide coatings

A series of NCO terminated polyurethane (PU)–imide copolymers were synthesized by a systematic three‐step process and were chain extended with different diol/diamine chain extenders. In the first step, isocyanate terminated PU prepolymers were prepared by reacting soft segments such as polyester (PE) polyols and polyether polyols such as polypropylene glycol (PPG‐1000) with hard segments like 2,4‐tolylene‐diisocyanate (TDI) or isophorone‐diisocyanate (IPDI) with NCO/OH ratio 2:1. In the second step, thermally stable heterocyclic imide ring was incorporated using isocyanate terminated PU prepolymers by reacting with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) in a excess‐NCO:anhydride ratio of 1:0.5. The surplus NCO content after imidization was both moisture cured or partially reacted with chain extender and moisture cured. The films were characterized by thermogravimetric (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) instruments. The adhesion strength of these coatings on mild steel (MS), copper (Cu), and aluminum (Al) is dependent on the nature of the substrate. The TGA analysis show good thermal stability. The DMTA results show the microphase separation between the different hard and soft segments. Finally, a structure to property correlation was drawn based on the structure of the soft, hard, and chain extender and the observed properties are useful for understanding and design of intelligent coatings. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 3158–3167, 2006     

Effect of the diisocyanate structure and the molecular weight of diols on bio‐based polyurethanes

Bio‐based polyurethanes (PU) containing poly(ε‐caprolactone) diol (PCL) and hydroxyl telechelic natural rubber (HTNR) were synthesized. The effect of the diisocyanate structure and the molecular weights of diols on the mechanical properties of PU were investigated. Three different molecular structures of diisocyanate were employed: an aliphatic diisocyanate (hexamethylene diisocyanate, HDI), an aromatic diisocyanate (toluene‐2,4‐diisocyanate, TDI) and a cycloalkane diisocyanate (isophorone diisocyanate, IPDI). Two molecular weights of each diol were selected. When HDI was employed, a crystalline PU was generated while asymmetrical structures of TDI and IPDI provided an amorphous PU. The presence of crystalline domains was responsible of a change in tensile behavior and physical properties. PU containing TDI and IPDI showed a rubber‐like behavior: low Young's modulus and high elongation at break. The crystalline domains in PU containing HDI acted as physical crosslinks, enhancing the Young's modulus and reducing the elongation at break, and they are responsible of the plastic yielding. The crystallinity increased the tear strength, the hardness and the thermal stability of PU. There was no significant difference between the TDI and IPDI on the mechanical properties and the physical characteristics. Higher molecular weight of PCL diol changed tensile behavior from the rubber‐like materials to the plastic yielding. Thermal and dynamic mechanical properties were determined by using DSC, TGA and DMTA. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Synthesis and properties of polyurethane modified with an aminoethylaminopropyl‐substituted polydimethylsiloxane. II. Waterborne polyurethanes

A series of polyurethane (PU) emulsions modified with aminosilicone were synthesized, based on 2,4‐toluene diisocyanate (TDI), poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO), and dimethylolpropionic acid (DMPA) as a prepolymer which was chain‐extended with aminoethylaminopropyl polydimethylsiloxane (AEAPS) in an aqueous emulsion. Their chemical compositions, structures, bulk and surface properties, and emulsion morphologies were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectrum analysis (FTIR), tensile and surface contact angle measurements, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), water swellablity, an emulsion stability test, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was shown that the PU emulsions were stable and the siloxane chains were enriched on the PU surface. The water resistance of the PU film increased but the bulk tensile properties of the PU film were not changed significantly with a small amount siloxane modification up to 6 wt %. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 79: 295–301, 2001     

Polyurethane ionomers. I. Structure–properties relationships of polyurethane ionomers

The influence of chemical structure on mechanical properties of polyurethane ionomers (PU ionomers) has been examined. NCO-terminated prepolymers prepared from primarily 4,4-methylene bis(phenyl isocyanate) (MDI) and poly(oxytetramethylene) glycol (PTMO) were chain extended with tertiary amine-containing diols and the ionomers obtained by quaternization of the prepolymers. The N-methyldiethanolamine chain extender gave the best physical properties. The mechanical properties of the PU ionomers were improved with decreasing chain length of PTMO and with increasing concentration of quaternary ammonium centers (or NCO/OH ratio of PU prepolymers). A lower degree of quaternization resulted in a decrease in the mechanical properties of the resulting PU ionomers, but their properties could be improved by post-quaternization. The adhesion of the PU ionomers to aluminum and the glass transition temperature increased with increasing concentration of quaternizing centers.     

氨基硅油HTBN型聚氨酯的合成及性能研究

以端羟基聚丁二烯-丙烯腈(HTBN)为软段、甲苯二异氰酸酯(TDI)为硬段和端氨基硅油为改性剂,合成了端氨基硅油改性HTBN型聚氨酯(PU)。以n(-NCO)∶n(HTBN)、n(硅油)∶n(HTBN)、n(扩链剂)∶n(HTBN)和硅油加入方式为主要影响因素,采用L9(34)正交实验方法研究了各因素对端氨基硅油改性HTBN型PU的力学性能和耐介质性能的影响。研究结果表明,氨基硅油的引入能有效改善PU产物的断裂伸长率和耐介质(水、真空油、甲苯和乙醇)性能,PU产物在各种介质中的稳定性依次为真空油>水>乙醇>甲苯,R值对PU产物力学性能的影响依次为断裂伸长率>邵氏硬度>拉伸强度>定伸应力。     

Synthesis and characterization of novel urethane‐siloxane copolymers with a high content of PCL‐PDMS‐PCL segments

Novel polyurethane copolymers derived from 4,4′‐methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), 1,4‐butanediol (BD) and α,ω‐dihydroxy‐[poly(caprolactone)‐poly (dimethylsiloxane)‐poly(caprolactone)] (α,ω‐dihydroxy‐(PCL‐PDMS‐PCL); = 6100 g mol^?1) were synthesized by a two‐step polyaddition reaction in solution. In the synthesis of the polyurethanes, the PCL blocks served as a compatibilizer between the nonpolar PDMS blocks and the polar comonomers, MDI and BD. The synthesis of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) with high soft segment contents was optimized in terms of the concentrations of the reactants, the molar ratio of the NCO/OH groups, and the time and temperature of the polyaddition reaction. The structure, composition, and hard MDI/BD segment length of the synthesized polyurethane copolymers were determined by ¹H, ¹³C‐NMR, and two‐dimensional correlation (COSY, HSQC, and HMBC) spectroscopy, while the hydrogen bonding interactions in the copolymers were analyzed by FT‐IR spectroscopy. The influence of the reaction conditions on the structure, molecular weight, thermal, and some physical properties was studied at constant composition of the reaction mixture. A change in the molar ratio of the NCO/OH groups and the reaction conditions modified not only the molecular weight of the synthesized polyurethanes, but also the microstructure and therefore the thermal and physical properties of the copolymers. It was demonstrated that only PCL segments with high soft segment contents crystallize, thereby showing spherulitic morphology. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

正交实验优选HTBN/聚氨酯合成的最佳工艺条件

以端羟基聚丁二烯-丙烯腈(HTBN)为软段、甲苯二异氰酸酯(TDI)为硬段和端氨基硅油为改性剂,合成了端氨基硅油改性HTBN型聚氨酯(PU)。以n(-NCO)∶n(HTBN)、n(硅油)∶n(HTBN)、n(扩链剂)∶n(HTBN)和硅油加入方式为主要影响因素,并以断裂伸长率、邵氏硬度、拉伸强度和定伸应力为考核指标,采用L9(34)正交实验方法优选该PU合成的最佳工艺条件。研究结果表明,当n(-NCO)∶n(HTBN)=1.6∶1、n(硅油)∶n(HTBN)=6∶100、n(扩链剂)∶n(HTBN)=5∶100且在后期加入端氨基硅油时,端氨基硅油改性HTBN型PU的综合性能最好。     

Curing reaction of amino‐terminated aqueous‐based polyurethane dispersions with triglycidyl‐containing compound

Amino‐terminated anionic aqueous‐based polyurethane (PU) dispersion was obtained from NCO‐terminated PU prepolymer, which was neutralized with an excess triethylamine (TEA) and chain extended by ethylenediamine (EDA) during water dispersion process. That PU prepolymer was obtained from a polyaddition reaction of isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polypropylene glycol‐2000 (PPG‐2000), and 2,2′‐dimethylol propanoic acid (DMPA). This aqueous‐based PU dispersion was treated with trimethylolpropane triglycidyl ether (TMPTGE) as a latent curing agent and resulted in a self‐cured PU resin on drying. A model ring‐opening curing reaction between oxirane group of TMPTGE with terminal amino group of PU was demonstrated by glycidol with n‐butyl amine. The physical and mechanical properties as well as thermogravimetric analyses of these self‐cured PU resins were evaluated in this article. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Thermal and mechanical properties of polyisobutylene‐based thermoplastic polyurethanes

We investigated thermal and mechanical properties of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) with the soft segment comprising of both polyisobutylene (PIB) and poly(tetramethylene)oxide (PTMO) diols. Thermal analysis reveals that the hard segment in all the TPUs investigated is completely amorphous. Significant mixing between the hard and soft segments was also observed. By adjusting the ratio between the hard and soft segments, the mechanical properties of these TPUs were tuned over a wide range, which are comparable to conventional polyether‐based TPUs. Constant stress creep and cyclic stress hysteresis analysis suggested a strong dependence of permanent deformation on hard segment content. The melt viscosity correlation with shear rate and shear stress follows a typical non‐Newtonian behavior, showing decrease in shear viscosity with increase in shear rate. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 891‐897, 2013     

Copolymers based on poly(butylene terephthalate) and polycaprolactone‐block‐polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐polycaprolactone

A series of novel thermoplastic elastomers, based on poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and polycaprolactone‐block‐polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐polycaprolactone (PCL‐PDMS‐PCL), with various mass fractions, were synthesized through melt polycondensation. In the synthesis of the poly(ester‐siloxane)s, the PCL blocks served as a compatibilizer for the non‐polar PDMS blocks and the polar comonomers dimethyl terephthalate and 1,4‐butanediol. The introduction of PCL‐PDMS‐PCL soft segments resulted in an improvement of the miscibility of the reaction mixture and therefore in higher molecular weight polymers. The content of hard PBT segments in the polymer chains was varied from 10 to 80 mass%. The degree of crystallinity of the poly(ester‐siloxane)s was determined using differential scanning calorimetry and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering. The introduction of PCL‐PDMS‐PCL soft segments into the polymer main chains reduced the crystallinity of the hard segments and altered related properties such as melting temperature and storage modulus, and also modified the surface properties. The thermal stability of the poly(ester‐siloxane)s was higher than that of the PBT homopolymer. The inclusion of the siloxane prepolymer with terminal PCL into the macromolecular chains increased the molecular weight of the copolymers, the homogeneity of the samples in terms of composition and structure and the thermal stability. It also resulted in mechanical properties which could be tailored. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and characterization of hydroxypropyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane‐polyurethane copolymers

Polyurethane (PU) block copolymers were synthesized using prepared hydroxypropyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (HTPDMS MW 990) and polyether diols (N‐210) as soft segment with 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4‐butanediol. This low molecular weight polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) containing hydroxypropyl end‐groups displayed better compatibility with PU than common PDMS. In this article, we illustrate its synthesis routes and confirmed the proposed molecular structures using NMR and infrared radiation (IR). We varied the contents of HTPDMS and N‐210 in soft segments (HTPDMS—N‐210: 0 : 100, 20 : 80, 40 : 60, 60 : 40, 80 : 20, and 100 : 0) to synthesize a series of PDMS‐PU copolymer. IR spectroscopy showed the assignment characteristic groups of each peak in copolymers and confirmed that the desired HTPDMS‐PU copolymers have been prepared. The different thermal, dynamic mechanical and surface properties of the copolymers were compared by thermogravimetry, DMA, contact angle and solvent resistance. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Mixed macrodiol‐based siloxane polyurethanes: Effect of the comacrodiol structure on properties and morphology

Two series of polyurethanes were prepared to investigate the effect of comacrodiol structure on properties and morphology of polyurethanes based on the siloxane macrodiol, α,ω‐bis(6‐hydroxyethoxypropyl) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). All polyurethanes contained a 40 wt % hard segment derived from 4,4′‐methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4‐butanediol (BDO), and were prepared by a two‐step, uncatalyzed bulk polymerization. The soft segments were based on an 80/20 mixture of PDMS (MW 967) and a comacrodiol (MW 700), selected from a series of polyethers and polycarbonates. The polyether series included poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO), poly(hexamethylene oxide), and poly(decamethylene oxide) (PDMO), whereas the polycarbonate series included poly (hexamethylene carbonate) diol (PHCD), poly [bis(4‐hydroxybutyl)‐tetramethyldisiloxy carbonate] diol (PSCD), and poly [hexamethylene‐co‐bis(4‐hydroxybutyl)‐tetramethyldisiloxy carbonate] diol (COPD). Polyurethanes were characterized by size exclusion chromatography, tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The results clearly demonstrated that the structure of the comacrodiol influenced the properties and morphology of siloxane‐based polyurethanes. All comacrodiols, except PEO, improved the UTS of the polyurethane; PHMO and PTMO were the best polyether comacrodiols, while PSCD was the best polycarbonate comacrodiol. Incorporation of the comacrodiol made polyurethanes more elastomeric with low modulus, but the effect was less significant with polycarbonate comacrodiols. DSC and DMTA results strongly supported that the major morphological change associated with incorporation of a comacrodiol was the significant increase in the interfacial regions, largely through the compatibilization with the hard segment. The extent of compatibilization varied with the comacrodiol structure; hydrophilic polyethers such as PEO were the most compatible, and consequently, had poor mechanical strength. Among the polyethers, PHMO was the best, having an appropriate level of compatibility with the hard segment for substantial improvement in mechanical properties. Siloxy carbonate comacrodiol PSCD was the best among the polycarbonates. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 78: 1071–1082, 2000     

Optical and thermal properties of diethyl‐(2R, 3R) (+)‐tartrate based chiral polyurethanes with main chain amido chromophores

The toluene diisocyanate based optically active chiral polyurethanes were synthesized according to the symmetry conditions. The noncentrosymmetric (both charge asymmetry and spatial asymmetry) environment were attained by the incorporation of the chiral units (diethyl‐(2R,3R)(+)‐tartrate) and donor‐acceptor building blocks in the main chain which induce a helical conformation in the macromolecular chain. A series of optically active polyurethanes containing chiral linkages in the polymer back bone have been synthesized by using DBTDL catalyst by incorporating the amido diols which were obtained by the aminolysis of ε‐caprolactone by using the diamines, diaminoethane, diaminobutane, and diaminohexane respectively. The effect of incorporation of the chiral molecule diethyl‐(2R,3R)(+)‐tartrate on the properties of polyurethanes was studied by changing the chromophores and also by varying the chiral‐chromophore composition. Various properties of polyurethanes were investigated by UV, Fluorescence, TG/DTA, XRD, polarimetric techniques, Kurtz‐Perry powder techniques, etc. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis and characterization of rubber‐seed‐oil‐based polyurethanes

Novel biobased polyurethanes were synthesized from rubber seed oil (RSO), a renewable resource. The RSO monoglyceride, together with xylene and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI), was employed to synthesize the desired urethane‐based prepolymer with isocyanate (NCO)‐terminated end groups followed by curing. The degrees of crosslinking of the polyurethane after curing were assessed with their swelling behavior. The properties of the resulting polyurethanes were found to be dependent on the type of diisocyanate and their molar ratios to the RSO monoglyceride. The network structures, which were assessed through swelling studies, showed that networks based on HMDI with an NCO/OH ratio of 1.50 were better crosslinked than with those toluene diisocyanate. The thermal properties of the samples analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis showed two and three decomposition stages in aliphatic‐ and aromatic‐based RSO polyurethanes, respectively. The highest stability with initial decomposition temperature (253°C) and percentage residual at 500°C (11.4%) was achieved with an aliphatic‐based RSO polyurethane. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Syntheses and properties of polyurethanes containing side‐chain azobenzene groups

Polymers containing azobenzene groups have the characteristic reaction of photo‐induced cis–trans isomerism. The study of new materials for optical information storage has prompted making use of these photo‐isomerizations. In this study, we report the syntheses and properties of four different polyurethanes (DR‐PUns) containing azobenzene groups in the side‐chains. The structurally similar polyurethanes (DR‐PUns) were synthesized by the polycondensation reaction of Disperse Red 19 (DR 19) and four different diisocyanates in dimethylformamide. By introducing of DR 19 into the polymer, we obtained polymers containing a photochromic group in the side‐chain. The weight‐average molecular weights of the DR‐PUns were in the range 5500–12 900. The T_gs of the DR‐PUns range from 119.5 °C to 157.0 °C, depending on the structure of the diisocyanate. Optical properties and solubilities of the polyurethanes were compared. The diffraction efficiencies of films were measured as a function of the reaction time. Typically, the diffraction efficiencies of the DR‐PU1 film prepared from toluene 2,4‐diisocyanate were observed up to a level of 0.25%. For the DR‐PU1 film, the effect of the intensity of the induced laser beam on the diffraction efficiency is also discussed. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and characterization of advance PA6‐b‐PDMS multiblock copolymers

Advance polyamide‐6‐b‐polydimethylsiloxane (PA6‐b‐PDMS) multiblock copolymers were first synthesized via the polymerization in bulk. Binary carboxyl terminated PA6 was served as the hard segment and PDMS modified with hexamethylene diisocyanate (PDMS‐NCO) was the soft segment. A series of PA6‐b‐PDMS copolymers based on different content and length of soft segments were obtained. Interestingly, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies revealed no obvious change in melting temperature after introducing PDMS segments to copolymers. The high melting temperatures indicated these copolymers possess potential applications in automotive industry that require high continuous use temperatures. DSC and transmission electron microscopy studies both demonstrated increasing the length and the content of the soft segment contributed to increasing of the degree of microphase separation. However, the improvement of thermal stability resulting from PDMS segments was also observed by thermo gravimetric analysis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41114.     

Biodegradable polyurethane elastomers prepared from isocyanate‐terminated poly(ethylene adipate), castor oil,and glycerol

The curing reaction of tolylene‐2,4‐diisocyanate‐terminated poly(ethylene adipate) (PEA‐TDI) with a mixture of castor oil (CO) and glycerol (GO) with a NCO/OH ratio of 1.0 at 150°C gave crosslinked polyurethane (CO/GO‐PU). All the polyurethanes were elastomeric materials at room temperature. The glass‐transition temperature of the CO/GO‐PU increased with decreasing CO/GO ratio. All the cured polyurethanes had a higher 5% weight loss temperature than PEA‐TDI. The tensile strength and modulus of the polyurethanes increased with decreasing CO/GO ratio, and tensile residual strain after 300% elongation for all the CO/GO‐PUs was almost 0. All the polyurethanes had biodegradability, when measured by a biochemical oxygen demand method in an aqueous medium using activated sludge. The rate of the biodegradation of the polyurethanes increased with an increase of CO/GO ratio. The crosslinked CO‐PU showed much higher biodegradability than the linear PEA‐TDI. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

FT-IR and XPS studies of polyurethane-urea-imide coatings

A series of polyurethane (PU)-urea-imide coatings were synthesized by a systematic three-step reaction process. Initially isocyanate terminated PU prepolymers were prepared by reacting soft segments such as polyester polyols (prepared from neopentyl glycol, adipic acid, isophathalic acid and trimethylol propane) or polyether polyols (polypropylene glycol-1000) with hard segments such as 2,4-toluene diisocyanate or isophorone diisocyanate with NCO/OH ratio of 2:1. Heterocyclic imide ring into the PU backbone was incorporated by co-polymerization with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) from the excess NCO groups in the PU prepolymer with an NCO/anhydride ratio of 1:0.5 and the surplus NCO content after imidization was moisture cured. PU-urea-imide coatings were also obtained by partial chain extension of the excess NCO groups in the NCO terminated PU-imide copolymers, and the remaining excess NCO groups were completely reacted with atmospheric moisture. The obtained polymers were analyzed with Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) and angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS). The type and change in intermolecular H-bonding interaction in the PU-urea-imide films with structural variables was identified by deconvolution of the FT-IR spectra using Origin 6.0 software through Gaussian curve-fitting method. The FT-IR analyses of the PU-urea-imide coating films show dependence of phase separation on the nature of chain extender. Surface characterization data from AR-XPS suggests the dependence of phase segregation behaviour on the nature of the chain extender, which also supports the FT-IR observations.     

Synthesis of poly(lactic acid)‐based polyurethanes

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biodegradable aliphatic polyester, but its brittleness makes it unsuitable for many packaging and appliance applications. The goal of the work reported was to create novel poly(ester urethane)s that incorporate biodegradable poly(lactic acid) diols (PLA‐OHs) and good mechanical properties of increased molecular weight via crosslinked network formation for engineering plastics applications. Three kinds of polyols (PLA‐OHs, PLA‐OHs/poly(tetramethylene ether) glycol or PLA‐OHs/poly(butylene adipate) glycol (PBA)) and two kinds of diisocyanates (4,4‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) or toluene 2,4‐diisocyanate (TDI)) were chosen for the soft and hard segments to compare their mechanical properties. In addition, 1,4‐butanediol and trimethylolpropane were each used as chain extender agents. Results showed the PLA/PBA‐polyurethanes (PLA/PBA‐PUs) of the MDI series and the PLA/PBA‐PUs of the TDI series had improved thermal stability and enhanced mechanical properties. Degradation behavior showed the PLA‐based polyurethanes could be degraded in phosphate‐buffered saline solution and enzyme solution. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry