| 초록 |
Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is among the most important classes of thermoplastic elastomers. Generally, TPU consists of alternate sequences of soft and hard segments. TPU possesses unique physical and chemical properties that is useful for a variety of applications. In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) diols were employed as soft segments for the synthesis of TPUs. PCLs of various molecular weight (MW, 500–2000 g mol–1) were prepared via ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone in the presence of propylene glycol as an initiator. The structural properties of the resultant TPUs were determined by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the mechanical and thermal properties were measured by universal testing machine, thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry analysis. Polyester-based TPUs provided excellent mechanical properties with tensile strength values of 25–65 MPa and strain at break values of 870–1200 %, depending on the MW of the PCL. |
