Design, polymerization, and properties of high performance thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers from seed-oil derived soft segments

Elevated environmental consciousness among producers and consumers has resulted in significant interest and research in seed oil derived building blocks for polymer synthesis. While slowly making inroads into selected applications, performance deficits have consistently relegated seed oil derived elastomers to roles having low performance requirements, or where biodegradability is paramount. In this article ester alcohol A-B monomers derived from reductively hydroformylated seed oil fatty acids are polymerized to make polyester soft segments. The seed oil components are separated following functionalization and then polymerized to make soft segments of varying molecular weight, functionality, and with varying polymerization initiators. The soft segments are subsequently polymerized with isocyanates and short chain diols to make thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers of varying compositions. High quality elastomers are obtained that meet tensile requirements for demanding applications. The structure, thermodynamic behavior, and mechanical properties of the elastomers are explained semi-quantitatively by combining theory of block copolymer microphase separation and a two-phase composite model. It is proposed that superior properties of the new elastomers could be understood in light of a relatively large Flory-Huggins parameter between the polyester soft segment and the urethane hard segment.