Structural investigations of polypropylene glycol (PPG) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI)‐based polyurethane prepolymer by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy

Abstract Polyurethane prepolymers are widely used in reactive hot melt adhesives and moisture cured coatings. NCO‐terminated polyurethane of polypropylene glycol (PPG)‐1000 and isophoron diisocyanate (IPDI) with an NCO/OH ratio of 1.2:1 were prepared without any catalyst or solvent. 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy was used for the structural investigation of the synthesized prepolymer. 1 H NMR spectra and dibutylamine back‐titration were used to monitor the reaction of isocyanate groups with the hydroxyl function of PPG and to allow a good description of the evaluation of the urethane groups. The data on percentage conversion were crosschecked with 13 C NMR spectroscopy in the urethane zone for the methanol endcapped prepolymer. The observations show a higher reactivity of the secondary NCO group than of the primary group. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1196–1209, 2005