Synthesis and Characterization of Polyurethane Elastomers

This study reports the synthesis and characterization of polyurethane (PU) elastomers, with emphasis on the effect of different methods and order for raw materials feeding. First, a series of PU elastomers is synthesized using polyether glycol, TDI, and extender chain reagent. The results show that after diisocyanate is dipped into the dried polyether, the elastomers synthesized using extender chain reagent exhibit the best properties. The subsequent characterization and measurements further show that by an optimum synthetic route, considerable hard segments can be formed uniformly in the soft segments, and the extent of micro-phase separation is relatively perfect. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the relative molecular weight of polyether glycol has an important effect on the properties of the synthesized PU elastomers. The more the relative molecular weight, the more soft segments are contained, and the smaller the tensile strength, rupture strength, and rigidity. In addition, the investigation on the effect of different raw materials indicates that the prepared polyether-type elastomers exhibit an excellent water/solvent resistance.