Chitin based polyurethanes using hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene. Part I: Molecular engineering

Chitin based polyurethanes (PUs) using hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) as soft segment were prepared and the structure of the proposed PU was confirmed using FTIR spectrometer. PU prepolymer was prepared using HTPB and toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI), and the chain was extended with different proportions of 1,4-butane diol (BDO) and chitin. During the detailed FTIR study, it was observed that tri-functional character of chitin results in the formation of network structure due to crosslinking of the material, whereas bi-functional aliphatic diol based polyurethane produced linear PU. Hydrogen bonding between the hard segments was identified by the IR spectroscopy. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis also confirmed the cross-linked structure.