Effect of polymerization procedure on thermal and mechanical properties of polyether based thermoplastic polyurethanes

Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) with different hard segment length has been prepared from a fixed molar ratio of poly(tetramethylene ether glycol), 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, and 1,4-butanediol by different polymerization procedures. Results reveal that the on-set temperature of exotherms (Tcc) due to the crystallization of hard segments by cooling the TPUs from melt and the peak temperature of endotherms due to the melting of hard segments (Tmh) by heating the TPUs increased and levelled off with increasing the hard segment length of TPUs. It has also been observed that soft segment glass transition temperature (Tgs) of TPU decreased slightly with increasing the hard segment length, which explains less mixing of soft segments and hard segments. In tensile measurement of TPUs, strain hardening is observed with increasing the hard segment length, which is attributed to the strain induced crystallization of soft segments.