Rheo-optical Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of polyurethanes and their blends with polyolefins

Rheo-optical Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze the orientational behavior of hard and soft segments of thermoplastic poly(ether urethane)s (TPU-Et) and poly(ester urethane)s (TPU-Es) and their blends with a 20 mass-% contribution of either polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene with an amorphous rubber phase (PP). The blends show a reduced stress level, lower elongation-to-break and a lower degree of orientation of the segments - especially for the TPU-Es blends - compared to those of pure TPU's when uniaxially elongated. Blends of TPU-Et with PP show reduced stress but increased strain compared to pure films of TPU-Et. This is caused by an improved adhesion of the rubber phase in the polypropylene and the polyether phase of TPU-Et. Optical micrographs visualize deformed polyolefin particles in elongated films of TPU-Et/PP blends. In the TPU-Et/PP blend we could achieve equivalent orientation for the polyolefin phase and the segments of TPU-Et caused by this higher phase adhesion compared to the other blends. Orientation functions (OF's) of absorption bands which specifically represent hard or soft polyurethane segments or which are characteristic of the polyolefin phase have been calculated to monitor the molecular alignment due to the mechanical treatment.