Ozone Degradation Study of Novel Chain Extended Energetic Polymers Containing Carbon‐Carbon Double Bonds

A range of chemically modified energetic polymers has been synthesized. The structural modification involves the incorporation of a double bond into the polymeric binder which allows subsequent degradation of the material by ozonolysis thus providing an environmentally safe method for the disposal of munitions. This was achieved by reacting the energetic prepolymer, poly‐NIMMO, with a range of unsaturated diisocyanates where the double bond was incorporated into the cross‐linking i.e. “curing” agent. Firstly, poly‐NIMMO and cis‐1,4‐but‐2‐ene diol were reacted with hexamethylene diisocyanate. Secondly, three unsaturated diisocyanates (two novel) were prepared in situ from their corresponding diacyl azides and reacted with poly‐NIMMO. The three diisocyanates prepared were 1,4‐diphenoxy‐trans‐2‐butene‐diisocyanate, phenylene diacrylic di‐isocyanate, and trans‐2‐butene‐1,4‐diisocyanate. The latter has been reported previously^(1,2) although never isolated and characterized; however, this has been achieved successfully in this study. GPC of the chain extended polymers prepared by both methods showed the expected increase in molecular weight distribution. A corresponding decrease following ozonolysis occurred particularly with the polymers prepared from 1,4‐diphenoxy‐trans‐2‐butene‐diisocyanate and phenylene diacrylic diisocyanate.     

Waterborne cationomer polyurethane coatings with improved hydrophobic properties

The AFM method was used to investigate the phase structure of the coatings, which have been obtained after application of polyurethane cationomers, synthesized in the reaction of 4,4′‐methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate) or isophorone diisocyanate with polyoxyethylene glycol (M = 600) and N‐methyl or N‐butyldiethanolamine with 2,2,3,3‐tetrafluoro‐1,4‐butanediol. Changes were discussed in the surface‐free energy (SFE) and its components, as calculated independently according to the method suggested by van Owens–Wendt, in relation to chemical structures of cationomers, as well as morphology of coating surfaces obtained from those cationomers. Fluorine incorporated into cationomers (about 2–5%) contributed to lower SFE values, down to about 30 mJ/m². An attempt was made to use ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy to provide more extensive grounds for the effect of polyurethane chemical structures (by parameters κ) on the SFE of coatings obtained from such polyurethanes, with the values of SFE (γ_S, γ) and determined by the Owens–Wendt method. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Compatibilization of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate)–poly(lactic acid) blends with diisocyanates

Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) was blended with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with various reactive processing agents to decrease its brittleness and enhance its processability. Three diisocyanates, namely, hexamethylene diisocyanate, poly(hexamethylene diisocyanate), and 1,4‐phenylene diisocyanate, were used as compatibilizing agents. The morphology, thermomechanical properties, and rheological behavior were investigated with scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, tensile testing, dynamomechanical thermal analysis in torsion mode (dynamic mechanical analysis), and oscillatory rheometry with a parallel‐plate setup. The presence of the diisocyanates resulted in an enhanced polymer blend compatibility; this led to an improvement in the overall mechanical performance but did not affect the thermal stability of the system. A slight reduction in the PHBV crystallinity was observed with the incorporation of the diisocyanates. The addition of diisocyanates to the PHBV–PLA blend resulted in a notable increase in the final complex viscosity at low frequencies when compared with the same system without compatibilizers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44806.     

Microphase-separated structure and mechanical properties of norbornane diisocyanate-based polyurethanes

Norbornane diisocyanate (NBDI: 2,5(2,6)-bis(isocyanatomethyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane) is a new commercialized diisocyanate. NBDI-based polyurethane elastomers (PUEs) were prepared from poly(oxytetramethylene) glycol (PTMG), NBDI and 1,4-butanediol (BD) by a prepolymer method. Microphase-separated structure and mechanical properties of the NBDI-based PUEs were compared with general aliphatic and cycloaliphatic diisocyanate-based PUEs. The diisocyanates used were isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), 4,4′-dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate (HMDI) and 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). Regular polyurethanes were also prepared as hard segment models from each isocyanate and BD to understand the feature of each hard segment chain. The HDI-based PUE showed the largest Young's modulus and tensile strength in the four PUEs due to the ability of crystallization of the hard segment component and the strongest microphase separation. HMDI has both properties of aliphatic and cycloaliphatic diisocyanates because of its high symmetrical chemical structure compared with NBDI and IPDI. On the other hand, the NBDI- and IPDI-based PUEs have an inclination to phase mixing, leading to decreased Young's modulus and tensile strength. The NBDI-based PUE exhibited better thermal properties at high temperatures due to stiff structure of NBDI.     

Effect of cationic group content on shape memory effect in segmented polyurethane cationomer

To illustrate the importance of cationic groups within hard segments on shape memory effect in segmented polyurethane (PU) cationomers, the shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) cationomers composed of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), 1,4‐butanediol (BDO), and N‐methyldiethanolamine (NMDA) or N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)isonicotinamide (BIN) were synthesized. The comparison of shape memory effect between NMDA series and BIN series was made. The relations between the structure and shape memory effect of the two series of cationomers with various ionic group contents were investigated. It is observed that the stress at 100% elongation is reduced for these two series of PU cationomers with increasing ionic group content. Especially for NMDA series, the stress reduction is more significant. The fixity ratio and recovery ratio of the NMDA series can be improved simultaneously by the insertion of cationic groups within hard segments, but not for the BIN series. Characterizations with DSC and DMA suggest that the crystallibility of soft segment in SMPU cationomers was enhanced by incorporation of ionic groups into hard segments, leading to a relative high degree of soft segment crystallization; compared with the corresponding nonionomers, incorporation of charged ionic groups within hard segments can enhance the cohesion force among hard segments particularly at high ionic group content. This methodology offers good control of the shape memory characteristic in thin films and is believed to be beneficial to the shape memory textile industries. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 545–556, 2007     

Structure-property relationships in thermoplastic elastomers: I. Segmented polyether-polyurethanes

Segmented poly(ether-b-urethanes) have been synthesized with 2000 MW polypropylene oxide coupled with diisocyanates and diol type chain extenders. The diisocyanates used were symmetric rigid 4, 4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), linear aliphatic hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), and unsymmetric rigid toluene-2, 4-diisocyanate (TDI). The chain extenders were symmetric N, N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalamide (BT) and N, N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-hydroquinone (BH) unsymmetric N, N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)isophthalamide, and linear aliphatic 1, 4-butanediol (B). Hard segment contents ranged from 20 to 40 wt percent. The thermal behavior of these materials is consistent with phase separation into separate hard and soft domains, In order of increasing temperature above the soft segment T_g, there are transitions which occur in the regions ?56 to ?36°C (T_a), 70 to 90°C (T_b), and 138 to 168°C (T_m). The former is probably associated with soft segment change from a viscoelastic to an elastomeric state. Values of T_a are ～ ?51 C and ?56°C for the MDI-BT and HDI-BT polymers, respectively, and are independent of hard segment content. Microscopy showed that the former polymers have spherulitic morphology, so these materials have good microphase separation and exhibit crosslinked elastomeric properties. The TDI-BT or BI and MDI-B polyurethane have composition-independent T_a values of ?41 and ?36°C, respectively. These materials probably have considerable “domain-bound-ary-mixing”. At low hard segment content the MDI-B polymers behave as non-crosslinked elastomers. Only the MDI-BI polymers have _Ta values, which are strongly affected by composition, increasing in magnitude with increasing of hard segment content. This is interpreted as significant “mixing-in-domains” and is supported by morphology observed by microscopy. The next higher transition, T_b, probably involves dissociation of interdomain hydrogen bonding. In the case of the MDI-BT polyurethanes, the spherulites associated with the hard domains had disappeared at 141°C and the few small spherulites in the MDI-BI polymers disappeared at 130°C. The T_b values are 70, 83 to 90, and 100°C for the MDI-B, HDI-BT, and HDI-BI polymers, respectively. The melting transitions occurred between 138 to 168°C for the various polyurethanes except for the MDI-BT systems which decompose before melting. Thermal decomposition is a two-stage process. Hard segments decompose between 200 and 300°C. The initial decomposition temperatures are lowered in the presence of strong acid. Soft segments decompose at higher temperatures. The mechanical properties of the MDI-BI polyurethanes are charateristic of crosslinked elastomer, the results of which will be presented in a subsequent paper.     

Properties of segmented polyurethanes derived from different diisocyanates

Various segmented polyurethane materials with a polyurethane hard segment (HS) content of 40 wt % were prepared by bulk polymerization of a poly(tetramethylene ether) glycol with M_n of 2000, 1,4‐butanediol, and various diisocyanates. The diisocyanates used were pure 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), 2,4‐toluene diisocyanate (T100), toluene diisocyanate containing 80% 2,4‐isomer and 20% 2,6‐isomer (T80), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), hydrogenated 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (HMDI), and 1,6‐hexane diisocyanate (HDI). The segmented polyurethane materials were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile properties, tear strength, and Shore A hardness. The DSC and DMA data show that the thermal transitions are influenced significantly by the diisocyanate structure. In the segmented polyurethane materials with aliphatic HS, the polyether soft segment (SS) is immiscible with the HS. However, in the segmented polyurethane materials with aromatic HS, the SS is partially miscible with the HS. The diisocyanate structure also influences the mechanical properties significantly and is described as the effect of symmetry and chemical structure of the HS. Various solution polymerized polyurethane resins with solid content of 30 wt % were also prepared and their thickness retention, water resistance, and yellowing resistance were determined for the evaluation of their usage as wet process polyurethane leather. The polyurethane resin with aliphatic HS show poorer thickness retention but better yellowing resistance. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 167–174, 2000     

Properties of waterborne polyurethane‐fluorinated marine coatings: The effect of different types of diisocyanates and tetrafluorobutanediol chain extender content

Three series of waterborne polyurethane‐ (WBPU) fluorinated coatings were prepared with single aliphatic (4,4′‐dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, H₁₂MDI), aromatic (4,4′‐diphenylmethane, MDI) and a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic diisocyanates (1 : 1). Different contents of 2,2,3,3‐tetrafluoro1,4‐butanediol (TFBD) as a chain extender were used in the WBPU coatings. The fluoro‐enriched surface of the WBPU coatings was obtained with a combination of a high TFBD content (8.77 mol %) as well as the aliphatic or mixed diisocyanates. The tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break (%) and adhesive strength were characterized with respect to the TFBD contents. The mechanical strength and adhesive strength increased with increasing TFBD content in the three series. In artificial salt water, the maximum adhesive strength of WBPU was observed for this coating, which was achieved by TFBD bonded H₁₂MDI of mixed diisocyanates with a higher TFBD content (8.77 mol %). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39905.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel polyurethanes based on 4,4′-[1,4-phenylenedi-diazene-2,1-diyl]bis(2-carboxyphenol) and 4,4′-[1,4-phenylenedi-diazene-2,1-diyl]bis(2-chlorophenol) hard segments

Eight novel polyurethanes (PUs) based on 4,4′-[1,4-phenylenedi-diazene-2,1-diyl]bis(2-carboxyphenol) and 4,4′-[1,4-phenylenedi-diazene-2,1-diyl]bis(2-chloro- phenol) as hard segments with four diisocyanates viz., 4,4′-diphenyl-methane diisocyanate, toluene 2,4-diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate were prepared. Structural and thermal characterization of the segmented PUs were determined by FT-IR, UV spectrophotometry, fluoroscence spectroscopy, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and DTA/TGA analysis. All the PUs contain domains of semi-crystalline and amorphous structures, as indicated by X-ray diffraction. PUs were soluble in polar aprotic solvents like N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl formamide (DMF) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO).     

Synthesis,characterization of novel dihydrazide containing polyurethanes based on N1,N2‐bis[(4‐hydroxyphenyl)methylene]ethanedihydrazide and various diisocyanates

Four novel types of polyurethanes (PUs) were prepared from N¹,N²‐bis[(4‐hydroxyphenyl)methylene]ethanedihydrazide with two aromatic diisocyanates (4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate and tolylene 2,4‐diisocyanate) and two aliphatic diisocyanates (isophorone diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate). The chemical structure of both diol and PUs was confirmed by UV–vis, fluoroscence, FTIR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectral data. DSC data show that PUs have multiple endotherm peak. X‐ray diffraction revealed that the PUs contained semicrystalline and amorphous regions that varied with the nature of the backbone structures. PUs were soluble in polar aprotic solvents. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable polyurethanes with unsaturated carbon bonds based on poly(propylene fumarate)

The segmented polyurethanes synthesized from biodegradable polyesters are very promising and widely applicable because of their excellent physiochemical properties. Poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF), a kind of linear aliphatic unsaturated and biodegradable polyesters, has been well recognized in biomedical applications. Herein novel polyurethanes (PPFUs) were synthesized based on the PPF‐diol, diisocyanates such as 1,6‐diisocyanatohexane, l ‐lysine diisocyanate, and dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, and chain extenders such as 1,4‐butylene glycol and l ‐lysine methyl ester hydrochloride (Lys‐OMe·2HCl). By varying the types of diisocyanates, and chain extenders, and the proportion of hard segments, the PPFUs with tailored properties such as mechanical strength and degradation rate were easily obtained. The synthesized PPFUs had an amorphous structure and slight phase separation with strong hydrogen bonding between the soft segments and the hard segments. The elongation of PPFU elastomers reached over 400% with a slow deformation‐recovery ability. The PPFUs were more sensitive to alkaline (5 M, NaOH) hydrolysis than acid (2 M, HCl) and oxidative (30 vol.%, H₂O₂) erosion. The tensile strength, deformation‐recovery ability, and glass transition temperature of the PPFUs were improved with the increase of hard segment proportion, while the degradation rate was opposite because of the faster degradation of the soft segments. In vitro culture of smooth muscle cells in the extractant of the PPFUs or on the PPFUs film surface revealed low cytotoxicity and good cytocompatibility in terms of cell viability, adhesion, and proliferation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42065.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel polyurethanes based on N1,N4‐bis[(4‐hydroxyphenyl)methylene]succinohydrazide hard segment

This article deals with the synthesis and characterization of novel polyurethanes (PUs) by the reaction between two aromatic diisocyanates (4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate and tolylene 2,4‐diisocyanate) and two aliphatic diisocyanates (isophorone diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate) with N¹,N⁴‐bis[(4‐hydroxyphenyl)methylene]succinohydrazide, which acted as hard segment. UV–vis, FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and DSC/TGA analytical technique has been used to determine the structural characterization and thermal properties of the hard segmented PUs. X‐ray diffraction revealed that PUs contained semicrystalline and amorphous regions that varied depending upon the nature of the backbone structures. PUs were soluble in polar aprotic solvents. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

高性能CHDI型聚醚聚氨酯弹性体

综述了基于聚四亚甲基醚二醇、反式环己烷－1,4－二异氰酸酯（CHDI）和1,4－丁二醇的聚氨酯弹性体的合成工艺和机械性能,介绍了CHDI和其它二异氰酸酯的反应活性差异,并将CHDI型聚氨酯弹性体与二苯基甲烷二异氰酸酯（MDI）、对苯二异氰酸酯（PPDI）、亚甲基二环己基－4,4'－二异氰酸酯（HMDI）制成的聚氨酯弹性体的主要物性进行了对比。CHDI型聚氨酯弹性体在较低的硬段含量下就具有较高的硬度,比MDI型、HMDI型,甚至比PPDI型弹性体具有更好的高温力学性能。     

Synthesis and characterization of novel laccol based polyurethanes

Development of polyurethanes (PU) has come a long way from their origin in 1937 and has unique applications in a diverse set of fields. Recent PU developments are focusing more on the naturally-derived diols in the synthesis process in an effort to make them more environmentally friendly. In this study, three different diisocyanates (aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, and aromatic diisocyanates) were combined with laccol, which extracted from Vietnamese lacquer sap (Toxicodendron succedanea) to synthesize novel PUs. Influence of the different diisocyanates in novel PUs, hydrogen bonding capability, and crosslinking ability were investigated to provide a broader characteristic scope for future developments. Resulting materials illustrated good thermal stability after exposed to higher temperatures and the hydrogen bonding regions corresponding to N H (3326 cm⁻¹) and CO (1652 cm⁻¹) groups were shifted to higher wavenumber according to Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy analysis. Further curing occurred with temperature treatment and improved the overall quality of novel PUs. Powder X-ray analysis, micro hardness, and swelling analysis were utilized to identify molecular packing and crosslinking effects. Higher crosslink density observed for cycloaliphatic and aromatic diisocyanate incorporated novel polyurethanes compared to aliphatic diisocyanate incorporated polyurethane.     

Influence of Diisocyanate Structure on the Synthesis and Properties of Ionic Polyurethane Dispersions

A number of aqueous polyurethane dispersions based on polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG), 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BDO), dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) and diisocyanates of differing structures such as toluene diisocyanate (TDI), diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), and dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate (H₁₂MDI) were prepared. IR Spectroscopy was used to check the end of polymerization reaction and also the polymer characterization. The effects of diisocyanate structure on the particle size, contact angle, mechanical and thermal properties of the emulsion-cast films were studied. Average particle size of prepared polyurethane emulsions change by different diisocyanate based polyurethane. TDI based PU shows higher average particle size and contact angle than the others. Tensile strength, hardness, and elongation at break were higher in the case of MDI based polyurethane. Thermal property and thermal stability is also affected by variation of diisocyanate molecular structure.     

Properties of Waterborne Polyurethane Adhesives with Aliphatic and Aromatic Diisocyanates

A series of waterborne polyurethane (WBPU) adhesives were prepared with various ratios of aliphatic/aromatic diisocyanates, namely 4,4′-dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate (H₁₂MDI) as an aliphatic diisocyanate and 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) as an aromatic diisocyanate with poly(tetramethyleneoxideglycol) (PTMG), ethylene diamine (EDA) and dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA). ¹H-NMR spectroscopy was utilized to investigate the side reaction at the dispersion step during synthesis of WBPU dispersions with respect to aliphatic, aromatic and mixed diisocyanates. The tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break (%), storage modulus, glass transition temperature and adhesive strength were measured with respect to aliphatic/aromatic diisocyanate contents. The adhesive strength was maximum using mixed diisocyanates containing 25 mol% MDI in WBPU adhesives.     

Synthesis,characterization, and acoustic properties of new soluble polyurethanes based on 2,2′‐[1,4‐phenylenebis(nitrilomethylylidene)diphenol and 2,2′‐[4,4′‐methylene‐di‐2‐methylphenylene‐1,1′‐bis(nitrilomethylylidene)]diphenol

Eight novel polyurethanes based on 2,2′‐[1,4‐phenylenebis(nitrilomethylylidene)]diphenol and 2,2′‐[4,4′‐methylene‐di‐2‐methylphenylene‐1,1′‐bis(nitrilomethylylidene)]diphenol acting as hard segments with two aromatic and two aliphatic diisocyanates (4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate, toluene 2,4‐diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, and hexamethylene diisocyanate) were prepared and characterized with Fourier transform infrared, UV spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, ¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential thermal analysis. All the polyurethanes contained domains of semicrystalline and amorphous structures, as indicated by X‐ray diffraction. The acoustic properties and solubility parameters were calculated with the group contribution method. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

SPECIFIC REFRACTIVE INDEX INCREMENTS OF POLYURETHANE/POLYDIMETHYLSILOXANE SEGMENTED COPOLYMERS

New polydimethylsiloxane-containing segmented block copolyure-thanes were obtained from aromatic or aliphatic diisocyanates, 1,4-butanediol and poly(ethylene glycol)adipate using a multistep polyaddition process. Specific refractive index increments of these segmented copolymers in N,N-dimethyl-formamide have been determined by the Lorenz-Lorentz equation and the corresponding group contributions to the molar refraction and to the molar volume. The results are in good agreement with the experimental values. Also, from the dependence between the specific refractive index increments and the weight fraction of 4,4′-methylene diphenylene diisocyanate units, w _d , the ν₀ and dν/dw _d coefficients have been evaluated and the results are situated between the values reported in literature.     

Novel precursors suitable for RIM polyurethane networks

The synthesis and development of novel, furan-based diisocyanates (FDI) and myrcene-based polyols (PM) with potential for polyurethane production are presented. Pure FDI compounds, similar in structure to 4,4'-methylenediphenylene diisocyanate (MDI) were prepared unambiguously from fur-furylamine as liquids of low volatility, stable down to 0° C. making them particularly suitable for RIM. Comparative kinetics studies with n-butanol show the FDIs to behave as benzylic compounds with reactivities intermediate between those of aryl and alkyl diisocynates. Studies were made on segmented copolyurethanes prepared from FDI and polyol mixtures of 1,4-butane diol (BD) and polytetrahydrofuran (Mn. 1010). Hydroxyfunctional polymyrcenes were prepared from myrcene in n-butanol at 100° C using hydrogen peroxide as initiator. The liquid rubbers formed (M_n, 2000-4000; with f_n, 2.3-1.3 respectively) were shown by n.m.r. to comprise mainly substituted 1,4-butadiene units and are similar to the commercially available polybutadienes (PB). Copolyurethane elastomers were prepared from polyol blends of PM and 1,4-butane diol reacting with MDI. Both series of FDI-and PM-based copolyurethanes were shown by d.s.c. d.m.a. and tensile measurements to possess properties comparable to analogous materials formed from, respectively, MDI- and PB-based systems. In addition to their suitability for RIM, the results show the feasibility of deriving polyurethane feedstocks from naturally-occurring, non-oil based sources.     

Study of the synthesis and physical properties of fire-resistant polyurethane ionomers

Fire-resistant polyurethane ionomers successfully synthesized at our laboratory have been proved by infrared spectra. In aqueous solution, the surface tension for fire-resistant polyurethane ionomers made by toluene diisocyanate or isophorone diisocyanate was found to decrease substantially with increasing concentration of 1,4-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine but to increase gradually with increasing phenylphosphonic acid or 1,4-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine with the phenylphosphonic acid concentration used to prepare these ionomers. For 1,4-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-based polyurethane ionomers made by toluene diisocyanate or isophorone diisocyanate in aqueous solution, the number-average particle sizes of these ionomers decrease drastically with increasing 1,4-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine concentration, as a result of intramolecular interaction. On the other hand, for both phenylphosphonic acid and 1,4-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine with phenylphosphonic acid-based polyurethane ionomers, their average particle size increased with increasing phenylphosphonic acid or 1,4-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine with phenylphosphonic acid concentration. This may be attributed to the results of intermolecular interaction. Obviously, the limiting oxygen index values are seen to be higher for the isophorone diisocyanate type than for the toluene diisocyanate type of fire-resistant polyurethane ionomer. In fact, our experimental results suggest that the isophorone diisocyanate types of fire-resistant polyurethane ionomers provide good fire-resistance. For self-cured films of fire-resistant polyurethane ionomers, the tensile strength at breaking point increases with increasing the concentration of fire retardants, but the elongation at breaking point for these ionomers, on the other hand, appears to decrease with increasing concentration of fire retardants. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 67: 19–26, 1998