Preparation, characterization, and properties of CeO2/thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites

Abstract

In this paper, ceria (CeO2) nanoparticle was prepared through ultrasonic combined with calcine method, which was further introduced into thermoplastic polyurethane matrix via one-step in situ bulk polymerization technique, and thus CeO2/thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites were obtained. SEM images revealed that CeO2 nanoparticles (with size of ∼60 nm) are uniformly dispersed into thermoplastic polyurethane matrix, which can lead to an increase of degree of phase separation. The degree of phase separation values were calculated according to the ratio of the 1701 and 1727 cm−1 absorbance areas in FTIR spectra. Effects of CeO2 amounts on thermoplastic polyurethane’s properties including blood compatibility, cell viability, chemical resistance, mechanical and thermal property, and so on were discussed in detail. Additionally, possible interaction mechanism of thermoplastic polyurethane with nano CeO2 is discussed initially.