Effects of synthesis technology route on mechanical properties and phases/microstructures of polyurethane elastomers

Abstract

In the present paper, the synthesis technology of polyurethane elastomers was studied with an aim at better controlling their phases/microstructures and properties. In particular, mechanical properties and glass transition temperatures as well as microphase separation of different polyurethane elastomers synthesised by four technology routes, with an emphasis on the effects of raw materials and their feeding sequences, were investigated using a universal testing machine, a differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) and a fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FITR). The results offered an ideal synthesis route: first diisocyanate was added into the dried polyether, then the two materials were fully reacted and finally the chain extender was added into the mixture products. The resulting polyurethane elastomer exhibited an excellent mechanical performance, a low glass transition temperature and a perfect microphase separation.