Lateral flexible linking of polyurethane copolymer and the effect on shape recovery and tensile mechanical properties

Abstract

Shape memory polyurethane (SMPU), flexibly crosslinked via a polyethyleneglycol (PEG) spacer attached to its side through an allophanate group, was tested for shape memory and compared with a linear SMPU. The new SMPU was composed of 4,4′-methylenebis(phenylisocyanate) (MDI), poly(tetramethyleneglycol) (PTMG-2000), and 1,4-butanediol (BD), and included polyethyleneglycol (PEG-200) as a spacer. A second MDI, linked to the carbamate group of the first MDI, served as the connecting point for the PEG-200. Two types of SMPU, differing according to their soft segment (PTMG-2000) and linker (PEG-200) contents, were compared in mechanical and shape memory properties. In the best case, a 780% increase in maximum stress was attained without any sacrifice in strain for the new material compared with the linear polymer. In particular, the stress–strain curve showed that the PEG-crosslinked SMPU had superior tensile mechanical properties. Its shape recovery was as high as 99%, which is the best value we have measured for an SMPU. After four cyclic tests, shape recovery remained greater than 95%. Shape retention of the best SMPU remained above 93% even after four cyclic tests. Here, results demonstrating the extraordinary shape memory properties of these types of SMPU, together with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared spectroscopy data, are analyzed and discussed. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers