Preparation and performance of polyether elastomer with a combination of polyurethane and polytriazole

Abstract

AbstractPolyether polyurethane elastomers prepared by polyisocyanate N100 and ethylene oxide‐tetrahydrofuran copolymer (PET) were compared to that polytriazole polyethylene oxide‐tetrahydrofuran (PTPET) elastomers prepared by alkynyl‐terminated polyethylene oxide‐tetrahydrofuran (ATPET) and glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) at a comparative molecular weight. The polyether polyurethane (PET‐N100) elastomers turned out to have better mechanical properties than that of PTPET/GAP elastomer. In order to explore the effectiveness of nitrogen‐enriched structures in the field of flame‐retardancy, PET‐N100 and PTPET/GAP elastomers were tested by cone calorimetry. The PET‐N100 elastomer exhibited an inferior performance of flame‐retardancy to that of PTPET/GAP elastomer. Therefore, a modification of the terminal hydroxyl group in GAP with 4,4′‐methylene‐bisphenyl‐isocyanate (MDI) and flame‐retardant diethyl bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) amino methyl phosphonate (DBMAP) was attempted and characterized by FT‐IR, NMR, and gel permeation chromatography. It was found that the synthesized GAP‐MDI‐DBAMP could serve as a novel curing agent for ATPET, which would endow the novel PTPET elastomer a combination of the advantageous properties, that is, the outstanding mechanical properties from PET‐N100 elastomer, favorable flame‐retardancy from PTPET/GAP elastomer and DBAMP. The thermogravimetry analysis/DTG, DSC, tensile strength test, and swelling analysis proved that PTPET/GAP‐MDI‐DBAMP elastomer had excellent thermal stability and mechanical strength.