Thermooxidative stability of different polyurethanes evaluated by isothermal and dynamic methods

Abstract

Two methods for the evaluation of resistance to the thermooxidation of different classes of polyurethane films (PURs) throughout thermogravimetric analyses were used. Normal and waterborne polyurethanes were characterized using either isothermal or dynamic heating. In the isothermal method, the times required to reach degradations of 0.025, 0.05, and 0.10 were determined at several temperatures in the interval of 190–250 °C. In the dynamic method, heating rates of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10 °C/min were used in the range of 30–500 °C, and degradations of 0.025, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.40 were considered. From the Arrhenius plots, activation energies were evaluated ranging between 130 and 230 kJ/mol for normal PURs and between 80 and 170 kJ/mol for waterborne PURs depending on the method, temperature interval, and degree of degradation. Advantages and disadvantages of the two methods were compared. The isothermal method requires a preliminary test, and it was more useful for degradation studies up to 0.05. The dynamic method offered evidence for the presence of different degradation processes, and it was more suitable for the evaluation of kinetics parameters at higher degrees of degradation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 1216–1225, 2001