Fabrication of Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Thermoplastic Polyurethanes with Excellent Toughness and Cold Resistance
Chenxin Xu, Yushu Tian, Zhi‐Xing Xiong, Jiadong Wang, Bin Yang, Runguo Wang, Lixin Mao, Xuan Qin, Liqun Zhang
Abstract
In order to fabricate a tough material with excellent cold resistance, we designed a series of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs). Bis[(3-(2-hydroxyethoxy)propyl)dimethylsilyl]-terminated PDMS was chosen as a soft segment to interact with a hard segment consisting of dicyclohexylmethane-4,4′-diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol. By combination of the advantages of PDMS and TPU, the maximum tensile strength of the synthesized PDMS-based TPU reached 18.46 MPa, and the maximum coefficient of cold resistance under compression at −50 °C was 0.704, which is higher than that of traditional cold-resistant rubbers. Remarkably, the prepared PDMS-based TPU is tough enough to function properly at lower temperature as a 3D-printing material and can be utilized in various applications.