Self-healing polyurethane-polypropylene oxide copolymers for the protection of carbon and glass fiber-reinforced composites

Abstract

Polyurethane-polypropylene oxide block copolymers containing fragments of an adduct capable of self-healing by the Diels-Alder reaction mechanism have been synthesized and studied for the first time. All obtained polyurethane copolymers were characterized by IR spectroscopy. The temperature transitions and thermal stability of copolymer melts were determined by using the methods of differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The self-healing effect was confirmed using a thermal cycling procedure on pre-damaged samples of modified polyurethanes and surface morphology studies. The perspective of the work begun on the creation of self-healing protective polyurethane coatings are shown.