Characterisation of ureaurethane elastomers containing tall oil based polyols

Abstract

In the present work, ureaurethane elastomers (EPUUs) were obtained by a one-step method with various isocyanate indices (INCO) from tall oil (TO) polyols used as a chain extender. The aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of TO polyols on the thermal and mechanical properties of the manufactured EPUUs with regard to their industrial applicability. The temperatures of the glass transition and accompanying heat effects were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The chemical structure and degree of phase separation related to the value of hydrogen bonds were determined by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The thermal degradation was investigated by the combined analysis of TGA/FTIR. The performance as a fire retardant and evaluation of the flammability of EPUUs were tested with a cone calorimeter (CC) and by the limiting oxygen index (LOI). The mechanical properties were tested by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), static tensile strength studies and wear resistance. As concluded from the study, the use of TO-based polyols as a chain extender affects the chemical structure of EPUUs and, consequently, changes the number of hydrogen bonds and degree of phase separation (DPS). Therefore, an introduction of the TO polyols resulted in an improvement of the thermal and mechanical properties of EPUUs. Furthermore, the heat release rate of the developed materials was up-to three times lower in comparison to the reference material.