Physical and chemical Cross-Linking Effects in Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers with Different Macroglycol

A series of Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers was prepared via a two-step polymerization process. The NCO/OH feed ratio of polyurethane synthesized in this study was varied from 1 to 1.3. Studies have been made on the effects of chemical and physical cross-linkina, and the properties of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers based on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI)/1,4-butanediol (BD)/poly(propylene glycol) (PPG, MW:2000), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI)/BD /poly(oxytetramethylene) glycol (PTMG, MW:2000) was compared. These materials were characterized using FTIR spectrometer, dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer, and tensile retraction tester. PTMG based polyurethane elastomers showed higher elasomeric behavior than PPG based polyurethane elastomers at the same NCO/OH ratio. This feature has been connected with the specific nature of the polyols. The permanent set(%) was decreased with increasing maximum elongation from 50% to 300%.