Thermal properties of polyurethane elastomer with different flexible molecular chain based on para-phenylene diisocyanate

This work focuses on the relationship between flexibility of molecular chains and thermal properties of polyurethane elastomer（PUE）, which laid the foundation of further research about how to improve thermal properties of PUE. A series of PUE samples with different flexibility of molecular chains was prepared by using 1,4-butanediol（1,4-BDO）/bisphenol-a（BPA） blends with different mole ratios including9/1, 8/2, 7/3, 6/4 and 5/5. As comparison, PUE extended with pure 1,4-BDO and BPA was also synthesized.These samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）, thermogravimetric analysis（TGA）, dynamic mechanical analysis（DMA）, etc. The results showed that with the decrease in flexibility of molecular chains the glass transition temperature（Tg） increased and low-temperature properties became worse. Besides, all samples had a certain degree of microphase separation, and soft segments in some samples were crystallized, i.e. the decreasing flexibility of molecular chains led to the impossibility of chains tightly packing and crystalline domains forming so that the degree of microphase separation decreased and the thermal properties became worse.

Molecular Chain Flexibility and Dielectric Loss at High-Frequency:Impact of Ester Bond Arrangement in Poly(ester imide)s

The evolution of high-frequency communication has accentuated the significance of controlling dielectric properties in polymer media.Traditionally,it has been theorized that rigid molecular chains lead to lower dielectric loss.However,the validity of this proposition at high frequencies remains uncertain.To scrutinize the correlation between chain flexibility and dielectric properties,we synthesized six poly(ester imide)s(PEIs)with systematically varied molecular chain flexibilities by modifying the ester's substitution on the aromatic ring.The introduction of ester bonds bestowed all PEI films with a low dielectric dissipation factor(D_(f)),ranging from 0.0021 to 0.0038 at 10 GHz in dry conditions.The dry D_(f)displayed a pattern consistent with volume polarizability(P/V).Unexpectedly,PI-mmm-T,featu ring the most flexible molecular chain,exhibited the lowest dielectric loss under both dry(0.0021@10 GHz)and hygroscopic(0.0029@10 GHz)conditions.Furthermore,the observed increase in D_(f)after humidity absorption suggests that the high dielectric loss of PEI in applications may be attributed to its hygroscopic nature.Molecular simulations and characterization of the aggregation structure revealed that the smaller cavities within flexible molecular chains,after close stacking,impede the entry of water molecules.Despite sacrificing high-temperature resistance,the precursor exhibited enhanced solubility properties and could be processed into high-quality films.Our research unveils new insights into the relationship between flexibility and highfrequency dielectric loss,offering innovative perspectives on synthesizing aromatic polymers with exceptional dielectric properties.