The influence of poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO) soft
segment
length on the phase-separated microstructure, state of hydrogen-bonded
associations, and molecular dynamics was investigated in polyureas
polymerized from the bulk. For higher PTMO molecular weights (1000
and 650 g/mol) hard segments self-assemble into ribbon-like domains,
while incorporation of a 250 g/mol soft segment leads to a predominately
mixed segment material. The degree of microphase separation of the
hard and soft segments, however, is rather incomplete for polymers
synthesized from 1000 and 650 g/mol PTMO and decreases with decreasing
soft segment molecular weight. Broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy
reveals two segmental relaxations: a soft segment rich (α) and
slow segmental (α2) process. When the molecular weight
is reduced from 1000 to 650 g/mol the mobility of these processes
is reduced, consistent with findings from differential scanning calorimetry
and dynamic mechanical analysis.
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