Synthesis and characterization of polydimethyl siloxane-based polyurethane elastomers using toluene diisocyanate

Abstract

A series of polyurethane elastomers (PUEs) were prepared by the reaction of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI), the resultant PU prepolymer was extended with polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS). The conventional spectroscopic characterization of the synthesized samples using Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer confirmed the structure of the proposed PDMS-based PU. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was carried out to determine the thermal stability of the prepared PU samples. Surface properties of the synthesized material were studied determining the percentage of water absorption and equilibrium degree of swelling. The results revealed that by increasing the mole ratio of PDMS, the synthesized PUEs showed hydrophilic behavior while placing them in water and dimethyl sulfoxide solvent.