Dependence of the viscoelastic properties on the degree of segregation of the components in mutually penetrating polymer networks

The dependence of the viscoelastic properties of composites on the degree of segregation of the components was demonstrated on the example of polyurethane-polyurethane acrylate mutually penetrating polymer networks. Several methods of altering the degree of microphase separation, achieved by variation of the curing parameters, were examined to assess the correlations between the microphase separation processes and the kinetics of formation of the networks. The degree of segregation of the components was determined by dynamic mechanical measurements. The quantitative analysis of the relaxation maxima of the loss modulus permitted calculating the degrees of segregation. The viscoelastic properties were determined to be a function of the degree of segregation which in turn depends on the kinetic and thermodynamic factors of network formation.