Water effects in polyurethane block copolymers

Equilibrium and dynamic sorption isotherm measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, and, mainly, dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) measurements by means of the thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC) method were used to investigate the hydration properties of linear segmented polyurethane copolymers. Three types of samples were investigated with various fractions of hard and soft block segments. They were based on polyethylene adipate (PEA), 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO). At 20°C the water content h of the samples at various values of relative humidity rh increases in proportion to the weight fraction of soft block segments phase. At saturation (rh = 100%) the ratio of sorbed water molecules to polar carbonyl polyester groups is 0.13. At saturation at 20°C there is no fraction of freezable water. The glass transition temperature, T_g, measured by DSC and by TSDC, shifts to lower temperature with increasing h by about 8–10 K at saturation at 20°C. A dielectric relaxation mechanism related to interfacial polarization in the phase-separated morphology is also plasticized by water in a way similar to that observed for the main (α) relaxation. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Shape memory fiber spun with segmented polyurethane ionomer

The effect of cationic groups within hard segments on shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) fibers was studied and the cyclic tensile testing was conducted to assess the shape memory effect. Mechanical properties, hard segment crystallization, and dynamic mechanical properties of SMPU ionomer fibers composed of 1,4‐butanediol (BDO), N‐methyldiethanolamine (NMDA), 4,4′‐methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate) (MDI), and poly(butylene adipate)diol (PBA) were investigated using a universal tensile tester, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results demonstrate that only 2 wt% NMDA can significantly change the glass transition temperature of the soft segment phase. DSC shows that the ionic group within hard segments can facilitate the crystallization of hard segments in unsteamed SMPU ionomer fibers. But for steamed fiber specimens, this effect is insignificant. Moreover, the ionic groups in hard segments with different hard segment contents (HSC) have different effects. In unsteamed fibers with 64 wt% HSC, 2 wt% NMDA increases the glass transition of soft segments from 63.5 to 70.6°C. However, in fibers with 55 wt% HSC, the glass transition temperature is lowered from 46.7 to 33.5°C. The post‐treatment, high‐pressure steaming is an effective way to remove the internal stress and subsequently improve the dimensional stability of SMPU ionomer fibers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and properties of sulfonated polyurethane ionomers with anions in the polyether soft segments

A series of polyether (PTMO, PEO) polyurethane ionomers having different contents of sodium sulfonate groups in the soft segments have been synthesized. The reaction of transesterification was involved in the incorporation of the sodium sulfonate groups in the polyether. The polyurethane ionomers were characterized by means of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and small-angle x-ray scattering. Solid-state ionic conductivity was also measured. As the ionization level increased, the compatibility of the hard and soft segments increased and the glass transition region of the soft segment became broader. These samples had relatively higher moduli and good film-forming ability. Moreover, this kind of ionomer provides a very promising ionic conductive multiphase polymer with a single ion transport mechanism. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dynamics and deformation behaviour in non-hydrogen bonded model urethanes under heat and stress as studied by dielectric and infrared spectroscopy

A model polyether-urethane with monodisperse N-alkyl polyurethane hard segment has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, dielectric spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The temperature dependent changes in the enthalpic and dielectric properties have been correlated with specific molecular motions and transition processes in the hard and soft phase. The orientation of the hard and soft segments under uniaxial stress changes with the strain and mechanisms for the orientation and deformation behaviour have been proposed. Effects of the thermal history of the sample on the properties have been discussed as well.     

Molecular mobility and crystallinity in polytetramethylene ether glycol in the bulk and as soft component in polyurethanes

We revisit molecular mobility and crystallinity in a series of Polyurethanes prepared with polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) with varying molecular weights as soft component, methylene diisocyanate (MDI) as diisocyanate component and butanediol as chain extender in close comparison to the properties of the respective macrodiols used as soft segments. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) was utilized to study the glass transition and in detail crystallization and melting. Thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC), and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) were used to investigate local dynamics, dynamic glass transition and indirectly, crystallinity and morphology. The dielectric data were evaluated through representation by contour plots in the Arrhenius plane. Glass transition temperature of the diols is practically unaffected by molecular weight due to H-bonding effect, while for the PUs it showed a decreasing dependence due to higher microphase separation. Results are also discussed in terms of fragility. Crystallization of PTMEG becomes more intense and stable with increasing molecular weight, while the reflection of its melting process on its dielectric response was also observed. A weak crystallization process in the Polyurethane with long soft segments was well resolved using MDSC. Evidence for the occurrence of spinodal decomposition before this crystallization was observed by means of DRS.     

不同软段结构聚氨酯-酰亚胺嵌段共聚物的合成及热性能研究

用二步法合成了不同软段 (PPO ,PEG ,PEPA)聚氨酯 酰亚胺 (PUI)嵌段共聚物 ,FTIR光谱表征了所有合成PUI分子主链均含有酰亚胺链段 ,并研究了PUI嵌段共聚物的热性能受软段类型及长度的影响 .DSC研究表明聚酯型PUI的软硬段之间的相容性比聚醚型PUI好 ,随相同软段分子量的增加 ,PUI体系的软硬段兼容性变差 ,并显示了相分离的特征 ;热失重 (TGA)研究得出不同软段的PUI样品的热稳定性大小顺序为 :PEPA PUI >PEG PUI>PPO PUI ;动态力学 (DMTA)研究给出了所合成的PUI样品在 5 0～ 2 0 0℃范围内均出现了较长的模量平台显示出有较好的耐热性 ,且随硬段含量的升高其储能模量不断增强     

A MTDSC analysis of phase transition in polyurethane-organoclay nanocomposites

Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MTDSC) was applied to investigate the phase transition behaviour of polyurethane/organoclay nanocomposites. The endotherm transitions located at 50-80 and 140 °C were re-analysed through revealed thermal features in the MTDSC reversing, non-reversing and dC_p/dT curves. It was proposed that the diffused interfacial phase exists between hard and soft phases in the polyurethane system. The assignment of endotherm at 140 °C is attributed to the hard microphase domain transition, which is similar to an order-disorder transition. The transition in the region of 50-80 °C reveals the relaxation of segments in the interface resulted by annealing. The addition of organoclay resulted in a reduction of hard domain ordering level. A simple method for quantitatively estimating the amount of polymer chains intercalated into layers of clay was introduced, and the relationship between the weight fraction (ω_p), of the polymer intercalated into layers and the weight fraction (ω_c), of clay was established.     

Thermo-mechanical behavior of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane nanofibers

Analysis of the thermo-mechanical behavior of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) block co-polymer nanofibers (glass transition temperature ∼−50 °C) is presented. Upon heating, nanofibers began to massively contract, at ∼70 °C, whereas TPU cast films started to expand. Radial wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) profiles of the nanofibers and the films showed no diffraction peaks related to crystals, whereas their amorphous halo had an asymmetric shape, which can be approximated by two components, associated with hard and soft segments. During heating, noticeable changes in the contribution of these components were only observed in nanofibers. These changes, which were accompanied with an endothermic DSC peak, coinciding with the start of the nanofibers contraction, can be attributed to relaxation of an oriented stretched amorphous phase created during electrospinning. Such structure relaxation becomes possible when a portion of the hard segment clusters, forming an effective physical network, is destroyed upon heating.     

Specific essential work of fracture of polyurethane thin films with different molecular structures

A series of polyurethane (PU) thin films with different hard-to-soft segment ratios were synthesized in our laboratory. The molecular and morphological structures of the PU films were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide-angle x-ray diffraction, dynamic mechanical analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The PU films showed a single glass transition when the hard-to-soft segment ratio varied from 1:2 to 1:8, suggesting no significant phase separation between the hard and soft segments. FTIR and SAXS results disclosed that the PU films had a network structure with the physical crosslinks formed via the intermolecular hydrogen bonds established between the hard segments. The fracture toughness of the ductile PU films was characterized with the essential work of fracture method under different conditions. It was found that the specific essential work of fracture was a function of the chain length between crosslinks and independent of the test temperature when fracture occurred at a temperature below the glass transition temperature. The physical meaning of this fracture parameter was proposed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 1418–1424, 2007     

Method of determination of dielectric relaxation characteristics of plasticized polystyrenes on the basis of calorimetric glass temperature

The dielectric loss measurements of different polystyrenes (fractions and blends) with different molecular weights (M _n 2000–125000 g/mol) were carried out in the frequency range 10^–2–10⁶ Hz and the temperature range of the glass process (60°–135°C, depending on the molecular weight). The measurements of the pure fractions showed that the half-width of the glass relaxation process of the different polystyrenes can be correlated by a straight line, if they are plotted versus the relaxation frequency maxima of the glass process, regardless of the difference in both their molecular weight and glass transition temperature. Moreover, the fine structure of the shape of the glass process of polystyrenes with different molecular weights was found to be the same when the glass process appears at the same relaxation frequency range. The addition of oligostyrenes or low molecular <10% wt additives to the high molecular weight polystyrene did not influence the shape of the glass process. The calorimetric glass transition temperature of polystyrene was found to be only dependent on the number average molecular weight as well as on the number of end groups, but not on the molecular weight distribution. The obtained experimental results were correlated to develop a method for the estimation of the dielectric relaxation characteristics (relaxation frequency as well as the shape parameters) of the glass process of plasticized polystyrenes based on the calorimetric glass transition temperature. A method for the analysis of the dielectric relaxation curves of mixtures of label and polymer is suggested.     

Effect of the content of urea groups on the particle size in water-borne polyurethane or polyurethane/polyacrylate dispersions

A series of anionic water-borne polyurethane and polyurethane/polyacrylate dispersions and their paint films was prepared. It was found by using TEM that there were three phases in the polyurethane/polyacrylate film, i.e. the hard segment-rich phase and the soft segment-rich phase of polyurethane, and the polyacrylate phase. By increasing the content of urea groups, the glass transition temperature of the soft segments and the dissociation temperature of the long-distance ordering of the hard segments were raised. This should mean that the motion of macromolecular chains was hindered by increasing the content of urea groups, and the hydrophilic carboxyl groups embedded initially in macromolecular coils could thus not transfer easily to the particle surface, which resulted in a greater average particle size in the dispersion.     

Thermal analysis of the structure of segmented polyurethane elastomers

Polyurethanes were prepared from 4,4′-methylenebis (phenyl isocyanate) (MDI), 1,4-butanediol (BD), and poly(tetrahydrofurane) polyether polyol (PTHF) by melt polymerization. The –OH functional group ratio of polyol/total diol was kept constant at 0.4, while the ratio of the isocyanate and hydroxyl groups (NCO/OH) changed between 0.940 and 1.150. The thermal analysis of the polymers by DSC and DMTA measurements indicated several transitions. The three glass transition temperatures observed were assigned to the relaxation of the aliphatic –CH₂– groups of the polyol, and to that of the soft and hard segments, respectively. The glass transition temperature of the soft and hard phase changed with the NCO/OH ratio indicating changes in phase structure and composition confirmed also by the maximum in the number of relaxing soft segments. Changes in the relatively small number of end-groups result in considerable modification of mechanical properties. Strength is determined by molecular mass and interactions, while stiffness depends mainly on phase structure. Surprisingly enough, –OH excess yields stiffer polymers, since the interaction of the –OH groups results in a decrease in the amount of the soft phase. A unique correlation was found between tensile modulus and the number of relaxing soft segments.     

On the dielectric glass relaxation process of polymers: Ball-like labels in polystyrene

Ball-like molecules with strong dipoles (labels) were mixed with technical polystyrene (PS168N) in low concentrations (<0.5% wt) and measured dielectrically in the frequency range 10^–2–10⁷ Hz, and the temperature range 100°–135°C (glass relaxation region). The measurements showed that these ball-like molecules relax cooperatively with the polymeric segments with relaxation times lying at the high-frequency tail of the glass process. The activation energy of the main label process is found to be very similar to that of the glass process of the polystyrene segments and also has the same temperature dependence. This finding implies the existence of an additional mode of relaxation in the dielectric spectrum of the glass process of polystyrene (compared to polyisoprene). Considering the different behavior of the ball-like molecules in polystyrene and polyisoprene and the temperature dependence of the half-width of dielectric loss peak in different polymers, we suggest that the polymers could be classified into three classes according to the available dielectric relaxation modes in the glass process. In addition, the label molecules showed a high-frequency local relaxation process. The relaxation strength ratio of the local process (X _local) to the total relaxation strength of the label was found to be dependent on the volume of the label. This phenomenon could supply a new method for the determination of the mean size of the holes (voids) representing the free volume of the host matrix.     

Calorimetric and Dielectric Investigations of Glass Transition in Intermediate Glass-forming Liquid

The calorimetric glass transition and dielectric dynamics of -relaxation in propylene glycol (PG) and its five oligomers (polypropylene glycol, PPG) have been investigated by the modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and the broadband dielectric spectroscopy. From the temperature dependence of heat capacity of PPGs, it is clarified that the glass transition temperature (T_g) and the glass transition region are affected by the heating rate. The kinetic changes of PG and PPGs near T_g strongly depend on the underlying heating rate. With increasing the molecular mass of PPGs, the fragility derived from the relaxation time against temperature also increases. The PG monomer is stronger than its oligomers, PPGs, because of the larger number density of the —OH end group which tends to construct the intermolecular network structure. Adam-Gibbs (AG) theory could still hold for MDSC results due to the fact that the dielectric relaxation time can be related to the configurational entropy.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dielectric relaxation of poly(ester-ether-carbonate) multiblock terpolymers

The dielectric properties of a series of poly(ester-ether-carbonate) multiblock terpolymers have been investigated as a function of ether and carbonate composition in the frequency range of 10³–10⁶ Hz. The degree of polymerization of the samples was determined by viscosimetry measurements. The weight fraction, degree of crystallinity, and melting temperatures were characterized by means of x-ray diffraction and DSC methods. Dielectric behavior has been discussed in terms of Havriliak-Negami formulation. The variation of the dielectric properties with temperature has been associated with two relaxation processes: a) the -relaxation process observed at low temperature, which is associated to local motion of polar groups attached to both the soft and the hard segments, and b) the process assigned to long-range molecular motions above the glass transition temperature.     

Transitions/relaxations in polyester adhesive/PET system

The correlations between the transitions and the dielectric relaxation processes of the oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) pre-impregnated of the polyester thermoplastic adhesive have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic dielectric spectroscopy (DDS). The thermoplastic polyester adhesive and the oriented PET films have been studied as reference samples. This study evidences that the adhesive chain segments is responsible for the physical structure evolution in the PET-oriented film. The transitions and dielectric relaxation modes’ evolutions in the glass transition region appear characteristic of the interphase between adhesive and PET film, which is discussed in terms of molecular mobility. The storage at room temperature of the adhesive tape involves the heterogeneity of the physical structure, characterized by glass transition dissociation. Thus, the correlation between the transitions and the dielectric relaxation processes evidences a segregation of the amorphous phases. Therefore, the physical structure and the properties of the material have been linked to the chemical characteristics.     

Glass transition and melting behavior of poly(ether-ester) multiblock copolymers with poly(tetramethylene isophthalate) hard segments

The glass transition and melting behavior of poly(ether-ester) multiblock copolymers with poly(tetramethylene isophthalate) (PTMI) hard segments and poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO) soft segments are studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS). Thermodynamic melting parameters for the PTMI homopolymer are estimated by WAXS and from the dependence of melting point on crystallization temperature. The melting behavior of PTMI is characterized by dual endotherms which are qualitatively representative of the original morphology, although reorganization effects are present. The composition dependence of the glass transition temperature parameters after rapid quenching from the melt are well described by mixed phase correlations for copolymers in the range 30-100 wt% hard segment. Combined with SAXS characterization at melt temperatures, a single phase melt is suggested in these materials which extends to temperatures below the hard segment melting point. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Study on thermal properties of polyurethane nanocomposites based on organo-sepiolite

The effects of sepiolite modified with γ-aminopropyltriethoxylsilane (KH550-Sp) on thermal properties of polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and tensile test. The DSC results showed that the glass transition temperature of hard segments in PU/KH550-Sp nanocomposite increased with the increase of KH550-Sp, because sepiolite restricted the formation of hydrogen bonding within hard segments of polyurethane. TG results revealed that the thermal stability of PU was improved by KH550-Sp, and the onset decomposition temperature for PU nanocomposites with a KH550-Sp content of 3 wt% was about 20 °C higher than that for pure PU. The tensile properties of pure PU and nanocomposites before and after ageing 120 °C for 72 h were determined, and it was observed that the percentage loss in tensile strength decreased with the addition of KH550-Sp because of an oxidation barrier of KH550-Sp confirmed by ATR-FTIR.     

Dielectric relaxation of specially prepared polystyrene terminated with rigid polar groups

Two polystyrenes terminated withp-cyanobenzyl andp-cyanobiphenyl groups (=labels) were prepared and their complex dielectric constants were measured in the glass transition region in the frequency range 10^–2–10⁶ Hz. The glass temperaturesT _g (DSC) were considerably different, 92 and 97.5°C, resp., although their molecular weights were very similar (11 000 and 10 000 g/mol, resp.). Their relaxation behavior showed that the cyano groups relax cooperatively with the polymer segments. The cyanophenyl groups were found to relax with shorter relaxation times than the cyanobiphenyl groups. The measured relaxation strengths showed that there was no association between the dipoles. The relaxation mechanisms of the cyano groups in both labels seemed to be different although the only difference between them was an additional phenyl group in the case of the second label.     

FTIR studies on the compatibility of hard-soft segments for polyurethane-imide copolymers with different soft segments

The polyurethane-imide (PUI) copolymers with different soft segments (polyethylene-co-propylene adipates, polyethylene glycol, or polypropylene-oxide) were studied. FTIR spectroscopy shows the different absorption bands of imide-I groups and reveals the different intermolecular interactions due to hydrogen bonding in these PUI copolymers. FTIR results suggest there is a good compatibility between hard and soft segments in either polyester-PUIs or polyether-PUIs having short soft segments. On the other hand, DSC analysis reveals that the glass transition temperature for hard segments (T_gh) of polyether-PUIs is higher than that of polyester-PUIs, and it increases with the soft segment length in PUIs consisting of the same type soft segments, which further supports the conclusions drawn from the FTIR data.