Liquid crystalline polyurethane/POSS hybrid nanocomposites pyrolysis studies by Py-GC/MS and TG/FTIR techniques

•Thermal stability of LCPU/POSS composites was studied.•Correlation between POSS structure and thermal stability was discussed.•Pyrolysis volatile products were determined and degradation route was proposed. The process of pyrolysis of liquid crystalline polyurethane (LCPU) composites with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) has been studied using pyrolysis - gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and thermogravimetry/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG/FTIR) coupled thermoanalytical techniques. LCPU elastomers modified with POSS molecules with different architectures, bearing aromatic, isobutyl and cycloaliphatic moieties, yield various volatile products of pyrolysis that were collected and characterized. The TG study showed significant differences in the thermal behavior of composites studied, evidencing the influence of the silsesquioxane type on the polyurethane pyrolysis paths. FTIR study of volatile products of thermal decomposition showed the presence of characteristic bands originated from carbonyl, amine, ether, methylene, and unsaturated hydrocarbon linkages. GC/MS investigation confirmed the existence of compounds identified by the IR method. The application of both thermoanalytical methods made it possible to postulate the thermal decomposition routes of PU/POSS hybrids and to point out the main factors responsible for changes in the thermal stability.