Study on mechanical, thermal and shape memory properties of polycarbonate/thermoplastic polyurethane blends

Abstract The objective of the study is preparation of shape memory blend of polycarbonate (PC) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Polycarbonate is blended with three types of TPUs and subsequently mechanical, thermal, morphological, and shape memory properties of the PC/TPU blends are studied. When TPU content in the blend is higher than 40% (by weight), the glass transition temperature related to PC is not shown in the differential scanning calorimetry thermogram, indicating loss of PC properties. The 60/40 optimized blend of PC/TPUs exhibits maximum increment of about 1100% in elongation and 43% decrement in tensile strength. The shape recovery of the optimized blend obtained by addition of 40% (by weight) of TPUs in PC polymer is found to be 65% and shape fixity is 97%. These results suggest that the blend of PC/TPU may be utilized for various applications where shape memory property is required including strategic applications.