Hydroxy and Di-Hydroxy End-Capped Polybutadiene as Reactive Steric Stabilizers for the Synthesis of Polyurethane Particles in Organic Dispersant Media

Summary: The synthesis of polyurethane particles by polyaddition of ethylene glycol (EG) and tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) in cyclohexane at 60 °C was investigated in the presence of ω-hydroxy and ω,ω′-dihydroxy polybutadiene, used as reactive steric stabilizers. The effect of the functionality and concentration of the reactive polybutadiene, as well as the monomer addition procedure, onto the polyurethane particle formation was studied. Calibrated PUR particles with an average diameter in the range 1–2 µm could be readily obtained.