Characteristics of the degradation and improvement of the thermal stability of poly(siloxane urethane) copolymers

Abstract This work investigates the characteristics of the thermal degradation of poly(ether urethane) (E‐PU) and poly(siloxane urethane) (S‐PU) copolymers by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and thermogravimetric analysis/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG–FTIR). The stage of initial degradation for E‐PU was demonstrated as a urethane‐B segment consisting of 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4‐butanediol. Moreover, the urethane‐B segment in the copolymers had the lowest temperature of degradation (ca. 200°C). The degradation of E‐PU was determined by TGA and TG–FTIR analyses and had three stages including seven steps. Although the soft segment of S‐PU possessed the thermal stability of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), the unstable urethane‐B segment existed in S‐PU. Therefore, the initial degradation of S‐PU appeared around 210°C. The four stages of degradation of S‐PU involved eight steps, as revealed by TG–FTIR, which identified the main decomposition products: CO 2 , tetrahydrofuran, and siloxane decomposition products. The imide group with high thermal stability was to replace the urethane‐B segment of S‐PU, which had the lowest thermal stability herein. The poly(siloxane urethane imide) (I‐PU) copolymer around 285°C exhibited a high initial temperature of degradation, and the initial degradation occurred at the urethane‐S segment consisting of MDI and PDMS. The degradation of I‐PU was similar to that of S‐PU and had four stages including six steps. Moreover, the degradation region of the imide group between 468 and 625°C was merged into the degradation stage of the siloxane decomposed products. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010