Polyurethane with an ionic liquid crosslinker: a new class of super shape memory-like polymers

Abstract

Polyurethane (PU) with an ionic liquid crosslinker (with a unique double network having a combination of covalent as well as ionic crosslinking) showed excellent shape-recovery as well as excellent shape-fixity properties compared to linear PU and non-ionic crosslinked PU. The non-ionic crosslinker resulted in hard and soft phases intermixing, whereas the ionic interaction in ionic liquid crosslinked PU kept the phase separation intact.