The effects of the structure and molecular weight of the macrodiol on the properties polyurethane anionic adhesives

Polyurethane anionic adhesives were synthesized as waterborne polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) by modified dispersing procedure, using isophorone diisocyanate, dimethylol propionic acid, ethylenediamine as a chain extender and a range of soft segments with various macrodiols proportions. The soft segment was formed by replacing poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) as polyether polyol with polycarbonate diol (PCD), as polyester polyol.The effect of the macrodiols proportions of soft segment on the thermal properties of polyurethane films was measured by thermogravimetry analyses (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used for evaluating the degree of phase separation. The results showed that phase separation between hard and soft segments of poly(ester–urethane) is more significant than of poly(ether–urethane). The phase separation degree of polyurethane dispersion significantly affected the glass transition temperature (Tg) and film properties. While the phase separation degree increased, Tg proportionally decreased, but the hardness and gloss of the dried films increased, as expected. However, thermal stability was influenced by the molecular weight of used polyols and chemical structure of the polyols, and it was described by the effect of oxygen content, and interaction between the soft and hard segment, and the soft segment composition.The soft segment can be achieved with a proper selection, in order to fine-tune the performance of waterborne polyurethane dispersion, considering certain practical application.