Materials, Methods & Technologies, Volume 8, 2014

Rezumat: Poly(propylene oxide), poly(ethylene adipate) and poly(1,6-hexane diol/neopentile glycol-alt-adipic acid), all terminate with 2,4-toluene diisocyanate, have been used to synthesize segmented poly(urethane-imide)s. Anhydride-terminated poly(ester) prepolymers were prepared by reacting the above macromonomers with 1,3-bis(3′,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)benzene dianhydride. Each prepolymer reacted with 1,4-bis(4-aminophenyl)sulphone to give a poly(urethane-imide). Hydroxy-terminated poly(1,6-hexane diol/neopentile glycol-alt-adipic acid) was also used to prepare poly(ester-alt-ether-imide). In this case, the anhydride-terminated poly(ester-alt-ether) prepolymer, prepared by the reaction of poly(1,6-hexane diol/neopentile glycol-alt-adipic acid) with 1,3-bis(3′,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)benzene dianhydride, reacted with 1,4-bis(4-aminophenyl)sulphone to give poly(ester-alt-ether-imide). All the copolymers form high-strength elastic films. Thermal analysis data indicate that the copolymers are stable up to 320°C. According to the DSC and DMA data, all the polymers have a low glass transition temperature (−50 to 0°C). In all cases, there is an elastic rubbery plateau in the temperature dependence in the range 0–200°C. The copolymers also display a very small loss factor (tan δ), which suggests that their dynamic properties are excellent. An extension of the rubbery plateau to higher temperatures was observed for a poly(urethane-imide) composite with a silicon resin. Above 200°C, the polymers become flowable. The polymers synthesized behave as thermoplastic elastomers.