Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Ion‐Containing Polyurethane Segmented Copolymers

Abstract

Despite the well-established foundation of polyurethane chemistry in both industry and academia, research continues at a vigorous pace to refi ne synthetic processes and discover new functional materials. Incorporating ionic groups into polymers is a synthetic parameter capable of tailoring polymer properties and enabling emerging technologies. This review focuses on recent effort in the fi eld of ion-containing segmented polyurethane copolymers. Multiple synthetic strategies to incorporate both cationic and anionic sites, including a particular focus on waterborne polyurethane dispersions and green synthetic methods, are examined. Fundamental structure-property relationships based on ionic structure, content, and placement are explored and many applications, including biomedical products and polymer electrolytes for energy devices are discussed.(PEG) or poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO), to the polyurethane reaction. The hydrogen bonding, depicted in Figure 1 , between the urethane carbonyl oxygen and urethane hydrogen, coupled with crystallization, constructs the hard segment (HS) domains, while the functionalized fl exible spacers comprise the soft segments (SSs) in an alternating fashion. The microphase-separated morphology of segmented polyurethanes is the foundation for their versatility, with the ability to further tune materials for a specifi c application with other synthetic parameters such as chemical composition and molecular weight. Yilgör and co-workers, [ 5 ] Yurtsever and co-workers, [ 6 ] and Wilkes and co-workers [ 7 ] extensively studied various model segmented polyurethane systems to further understand the morphology and factors infl uencing morphology on a fundamental structure-property level.Many comprehensive reviews and peer-reviewed journal articles focus on fundamental structure-property relationships of segmented polyurethanes.

Antimicrobial polyurethane foams having cationic ammonium groups

“…2,[25][26][27] In this study, reactive quaternary ammonium monomer were incorporated into the foam formulation to be able to endow the material with antimicrobial properties. The antimicrobial tests were performed with E. coli and S. aureus to have representatives from Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.…”

“…1,2 The wide range of chemicals that can be introduced into the polyurethane composition and the possibility of making foams leads to materials with many different properties. [3][4][5][6][7] Due to this versatility there is a continuous development of green and sustainable products based on polyurethanes.…”

“…prepared. 2,21 Some of these polyurethanes have showed excellent capacity to kill a broad range of bacteria. 22 In this work, we show a simple and straightforward strategy to chemically incorporate antimicrobial active quaternary ammonium groups into the polyurethane foams.…”

Molecular dynamics, conductivity and morphology of sodium deoxycholate-based poly(ester ether)urethane ionomer biomaterials

“…Polymers derived from bile salts/acids retain their biocompatibility, high stability of the steroid skeleton, amphiphilicity and chirality and self-assembly capability that are valuable for the construction of biomedical and supramolecular systems [10,11]. Polyurethane functionalized by the incorporation of ions are investigated for various applications including biomedical products and polymer electrolytes for energy devices [12][13][14]. Polyurethane ionomers based on polyethylene oxide have both good mechanical strength and high ionic conductivity.…”

Step‐Growth Polymerization in the 21st Century

“…Long et al also cover an important and well-established class of step-growth polymers, namely polyurethanes. In their review on ion-containing, segmented polyurethanes, [ 2 ] there is a focus on waterborne poly urethane dispersions and green synthetic methods. The synthetic strategies to incorporate anions as well as cations into the polymer and the resulting structure-property relationships depending on ion content…”