Synthesis of hydroxyl‐bearing polyurethanes from naturally occurring myo‐inositol

A route from naturally occurring myo‐inositol to hydroxyl‐bearing polyurethanes has been developed. The diol prepared from the bis‐acetalization of myo‐inositol with 1,1‐dimethoxycyclohexane was reacted with a rigid diisocyanate, 1,3‐bis(isocyanatomethyl)cyclohexane to afford the corresponding polyurethane, of which glass transition temperature (T_g) was quite high as 192 °C. The polyurethane contains side chains inherited from the acetal moieties of the diol monomer and was treated with trifluoroacetic acid to hydrolyze the acetal moieties and afford the target polyurethane functionalized with hydroxyl groups. The presence of many hydroxyl groups in the side chains, which can form hydrogen bonds with each other, resulted in a high T_g, 186 °C. In addition, the hydroxyl groups were reacted with isocyanates to achieve further side‐chain modifications. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1358–1364