| Abstract: | Polyether polyurethane cationomers are prepared using poly (tetramethylene oxide) of molecular weight 2000 as soft segments, N-methyl-diethanolamine as chain extender, glycolic acid as quaternization agent, methyl ethyl ketone as solvent, and three different diisocyanates. The three diisocyanates are 4,4′-diphenylenemethylene diisocyanate (MDI), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), and toluene diisocyanate (TDI). Properties of the films cast from solutions of the three series of ionomers are studied by infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, wide angle x-ray diffraction, and tensile elongation testing. In the un-ionized and ionized systems, the hard segments exhibit disordered and ordered arrangements, respectively. Ionization disrupts the order and produces increased cohesion in the hard domains, which have opposing effects on the tensile elongation properties. In the MDI and TDI systems, cohesion is predominant, leading to an increased tensile strength and modulus and decreased elongation at break. But in the HDI system, the disruption of the order is predominant, leading to decreased tensile strength and only insignificant reduction in the elongation at break. In the TDI system, the tensile strength is rather low, which is attributed to the poor order in the hard domains resulting from the high content of the asymmetric 2,4-isomer of the urethane. |
