Synthesis and thermal properties of carbon decaborane-containing crosslinked polyurethane elastomers

A new type of carbon decaborane-containing crosslinked polyurethane was prepared by two-step method using 1,2-(4'-hydroxy phenyl) carbon decaborane, toluene diisocyanate (TDI) trimer and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene as starting materials. The influence of the TDI trimer concentration, the catalyst dosage and the prepolymerization time on the gel content of crosslinked polyurethanes was investigated, and the polyurethanes with high gel content were prepared when the TDI trimer mass fraction of 32%, the catalyst dosage of 0.1% and the prepolymerization time of 4 h were applied in the polymerization process. Thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) were used to study thermal properties of the crosslinked polyurethanes in argon atmosphere from room temperature to 800 ℃. The first stage temperature of the fastest degradation rate for 5.3% carbon decaborane-containing polyurthane is 53 ℃ higher than that of ordinary polyurethanes, whereas its residual content at 800 ℃ is increased by 16.7%.