The impact of conditions mimicking physiological environment on the thermal stability of aliphatic polycarbonate-based polyurethane elastomers

• Published in: Journal of thermal analysis and calorimetry 2017-06, Vol.128 (3), p.1699-1709
• Main Authors: Špírková, Milena, Kredatusová, Jana, Hodan, Jiří
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aliphatic compounds; Analysis; Analytical Chemistry; Butane; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Diisocyanates; Elastomers; Fourier transforms; Hexanes; Infrared analysis; Infrared spectroscopy; Inorganic Chemistry; Isocyanates; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Physical Chemistry; Physiological aspects; Polycarbonate resins; Polycarbonates; Polymer Sciences; Polyurethane resins; Polyurethanes; Thermal stability; Thermogravimetric analysis; Urethane thermoplastic elastomers; Volatile compounds
• ISSN: 1388-6150; 1588-2926
• DOI: 10.1007/s10973-016-6029-y

Thermal stabilities of all-aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane (PU) films, either three-component (made from polycarbonate-based macrodiol, diisocyanate-1,6-hexane and butane-1,4-diol) or four-component (containing in addition oligomeric d,l -lactide-based linker in PU backbone), were studied by using thermogravimetric analysis (TG), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), auto-stepwise TG and TG coupled with FTIR (TG-FTIR). The evaluation of the influence of PU composition and time of the sample exposure to the environment mimicking physiological conditions (phosphate buffer saline at 37 °C) on the thermal characteristics was the main task of the study. The shapes of the mass loss curves of all studied PUs are almost identical, and the differences in thermal stabilities are relatively small. While the three-component PUs are thermally stable up to 280 °C in the minimum, the four-component PU starts to decompose at about 250 °C, due to the presence of the thermal-unstable d,l -lactide component. In all PU materials tested, the thermal stability is only slightly affected by the hydrolytic process. The safe technological processability till 200 °C together with the evolving of relatively safe main volatile compounds makes the polycarbonate-based PUs as suitable candidates for medical, bio-, package and similar applications.