Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.79, No.10, 1869-1876, 2001
Rheo-kinetic evaluation on the formation of urethane networks based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene
Rheo-kinetic studies on bulk polymerization reaction between hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and di-isocyanates such as toluene-di-isocyanate (TDI), hexamethylene-di-isocyanate (HMDI), and isophorone-di-isocyanate (IPDI) were undertaken by following the buildup of viscosity of the reaction mixture during the cure reaction. Rheo-kinetic plots were obtained by plotting In (viscosity) vs. time. The cure reaction was found to proceed in two stages with TDI and IPDI, and in a single stage with HMDI. The rate constants for the two stages k(1) and k(2) were determined from the rheo-kinetic plots. The rate constants in both the stages were found to increase with catalyst concentration and decrease with NCO/OH equivalent ratio (r-value). The ratio between the rate constants, k(1)/k(2) also increased with catalyst concentration and r-value. The extent of cure reaction at the point of stage separation (x(i)) increased with catalyst concentration and r-value. Increase in temperature caused merger of stages. Arrhenus parameters for the uncatalyzed HTPB-isocyanate reactions were evaluated.
Keywords:hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene;toluene diisocyanate;hexamethylene diisocyanate;isophorone diisocyanate;viscosity buildup;kinetics