FT-IR and XPS studies of polyurethane-urea-imide coatings

A series of polyurethane (PU)-urea-imide coatings were synthesized by a systematic three-step reaction process. Initially isocyanate terminated PU prepolymers were prepared by reacting soft segments such as polyester polyols (prepared from neopentyl glycol, adipic acid, isophathalic acid and trimethylol propane) or polyether polyols (polypropylene glycol-1000) with hard segments such as 2,4-toluene diisocyanate or isophorone diisocyanate with NCO/OH ratio of 2:1. Heterocyclic imide ring into the PU backbone was incorporated by co-polymerization with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) from the excess NCO groups in the PU prepolymer with an NCO/anhydride ratio of 1:0.5 and the surplus NCO content after imidization was moisture cured. PU-urea-imide coatings were also obtained by partial chain extension of the excess NCO groups in the NCO terminated PU-imide copolymers, and the remaining excess NCO groups were completely reacted with atmospheric moisture. The obtained polymers were analyzed with Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) and angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS). The type and change in intermolecular H-bonding interaction in the PU-urea-imide films with structural variables was identified by deconvolution of the FT-IR spectra using Origin 6.0 software through Gaussian curve-fitting method. The FT-IR analyses of the PU-urea-imide coating films show dependence of phase separation on the nature of chain extender. Surface characterization data from AR-XPS suggests the dependence of phase segregation behaviour on the nature of the chain extender, which also supports the FT-IR observations.