Synthesis and Properties of the Thermosetting Polyurethane Elasotomers Using the Polyol Containing Sodium Sulfonate Groups as Soft Segments

A series of thermosetting anionic polyurethane (PU) elastomers having different contents of sodium sulfonate groups in the polyol soft segments have been synthesized by nonsolvent techniques. The anionic PU elastomers were characterized by means of differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and tensile testing. Solid-state ionic conductivity was also measured. As the ionization level increased, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the soft segment was elevated and the range of the glass transition region (ΔTg) became broader. These results mean that the compatibility of the hard and soft segment increased. While the PU elastomers with anion in the hard segment had micro-multiphase structure, PU elastomers with anion in the soft segment had approximately homogeneous structure. Both the types of anionic PU elastomers provide ionic semi-conductive polymers with single ion transport mechanism. The temperature dependence of conductivity obeyed the Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher (VTF) equation.