Morphology and protonic conductivity of the polyurethanes with acid groups in the flexible segment

Thermal transitions, morphology and electric conductivity of polyurethanes that contain acid (COOH) groups bound to their polyether (poly(tetramethylene oxide)) chains and hard urethane segments of various length have been studied by means of calorimetry, wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering and a.c. conductivity in wide range of frequencies (0.1 Hz–1 MHz) and temperature (?100 to 100°C). It was shown that the polyurethanes are basically microphase-separated systems whose polyether-rich matrix contain from 20 to 25% of the hard urethane fragments. The protonic conductivity of the materials decreases with decreasing the polyether phase in the system.