Preparation and Characterization of Polyurethane Copolymer Grafted with Polystyrene Side Chains

Abstract

A polyurethane series containing grafted polystyrene and a Control series with free polystyrene were prepared, and their spectroscopic, thermal, tensile, shape-memory, and low-temperature flexibility properties were compared. The grafted polystyrene significantly reduced the ΔHc and also reduced the crystallization peaks of the polyurethane series. The tensile strength of the polyurethane series sharply increased with polystyrene content, whereas the Control series did not. The shape recovery of the polyurethane series remained high but the shape retention gradually decreased after four repeated tests. Lastly, the polyurethane series grafted with polystyrene demonstrated excellent low-temperature flexibility.