Carboxylate‐containing chain‐extended polyurethanes

Polyurethanes based on methylene bis(p‐phenyl isocyanate), bis(hydroxymethyl) propanoic acid, and poly (tetramethylene oxide) were synthesized, and their morphology and physical properties investigated. The acid polyurethanes exhibited very poor phase separation and mechanical properties, but upon neutralization with alkali metals phase separation improved dramatically and the materials resembled tough elastomers. The choice of cation played a much less important role than hard segment content in determining morphology and properties. Small‐angle x‐ray scattering patterns of these ionic polyrethanes exhibit two peaks, one characteristic of scattering between the hard and soft domains and the other reflecting scattering from aggregates of ionic groups residing within the hard domains. While ionic aggregation is the primary driving force for phase separation in these materials, their morphology more closely resembles that for nonionic polyurethanes than that for conventional ionomers, because the ionic groups exist in blocks composed primarily of rigid diisocyanate residues.