Eight novel polyurethanes (PUs) based on 4,4'-[1,4-phenylenedi-diazene-2,1-diyl]bis(2-carboxyphenot) and 4,4'-[1,4phenylenedi-diazene-2,1-diyl]bis(2-chloro- phenol) as hard segments with four diisocyanates viz., 4,4-diphenyl-methane diisocyanate, toluene 2,4-diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate were prepared. Structural and thermal characterization of the segmented PUs were determined by FT-IR, UV spectrophotometry, fluoroscence spectroscopy, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR spectroscopy and DTA/TGA analysis. All the PUs contain domains of semi-crystalline and amorphous structures, as indicated by X-ray diffraction. PUs were soluble in polar aprotic solvents like N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl formamide (DMF) and dimethylsulfoxide (DIVISO). (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.