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Title: Morphology and mechanical properties of radiation-polymerized urethane-acrylates. I. Pure oligomers. [Electron beams and gamma radiation of acrylo-urethane oligomers]

Journal Article · · J. Appl. Polym. Sci.; (United States)

The morphology of electron beam cured polyacrylo-urethane films based on polyethylene adipate and toluene diisocyanate was characterized to explain their mechanical properties. The polyacrylo-urethane films have a one-phase morphology in which the hard urethane segments and the soft polyester segments are homogeneously mixed. The films obtained from 1000-molecular-weight oligomer are hard and somewhat brittle due to their one-phase morphology in which hard glassy segments play a dominant role. The films obtained from 4600- and 6000-molecular-weight oligomers are soft and tough, once again due to their one-phase morphology in which soft rubbery segments are more effective. The original crystalline structure of 6000-molecular-weight oligomer is retained in the precrystallized ..gamma..-irradiated film, but electron-beam-irradiated films showed partial melting of the crystallites due to the heat of polymerization. The solid state polymerized films have a lower elongation, a higher modulus, and a higher breaking strength due to their crystallinity.

Research Organization:
North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh
OSTI ID:
5810150
Journal Information:
J. Appl. Polym. Sci.; (United States), Vol. 27:2
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English