Morphology and properties of urea-urethane nanocomposites obtained from crystalline prepolymers with different chemical structure

Urea-urethane nanocomposites reinforced by the phase created from the hard segments were obtained and studied. The polymer substrate - prepolymer was formed in a reaction of oligodiols with di-isocyanate. The hard segments were formed in a reaction with water. The prepolymer was crystallized prior to the reaction of forming the hard segments. Prepolymers with different chemical structures obtained from tetramethylene-ether oligodiol (PTMEG) and ethylene oligoadipate (OAE) were used for the polymers preparation. Differences in morphology and properties of the nanocomposites obtained from prepolymers with different chemical structure were found. In the investigation of urea-urethane nanocomposites morphology various techniques have been applied, including densitometry, X-ray diffraction, optical and scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorymetry. Selected physical and mechanical properties were studied by standard testing procedures applied for rubbers.