A set of aromatic-oxyaliphatic polyurethanes (PUs) with different mass fractions of components also containing fluorinated fragments was synthesized and studied using various solid-state NMR techniques and dielectric spectroscopy. In contrast to the common model suggested by Cooper and Tobolsky in 1966, the rigid domains of microphase separated PUs are formed, not only by units containing urethane bonds, but also by oxyethylene fragments that form a common rigid phase. The urethane bonds and oxyethylene fragments are incorporated into both rigid and soft phases. Good agreement with the Cooper and Tobolsky model is observed only when solubility parameters are significantly different for the hard and soft segments, such as hydrocarbon aromatics and perfluoroaliphatic blocks.
Multiblock copolymers containing linear polydimethylsiloxane or polymethyltrifluoropropylsiloxane and ladder-like polyphenylsiloxane were synthesized in a one-step pathway. The functional homopolymer blocks and final multiblock copolymers were characterized using solution and solid-state multinuclear 1H, 13C, 19F, and 29Si NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that the ladder-like block contains silanol units, which influence the adhesion properties of multiblock copolymers and morphology of their casted films. The adhesion to metals and mechanical properties of multiblock copolymers were tested. The SEM study of casted films of multiblock copolymers shows the variety of formed morphologies, including long-strip-like or globular.
1H spin-diffusion solid-state NMR was utilized to elucidate the domain size in multiblock-copolymers (BCPs) poly-(block poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block ladder-like poly(phenylsiloxane)) and poly-(block poly((3,3′,3″-trifluoropropyl-methyl)siloxane)-block ladder-like poly(phenylsiloxane). It was found that these BCPs form worm-like morphology with rigid cylinders dispersed in amorphous matrix. By using the combination of solid-state NMR techniques such as 13C CP/MAS, 13C direct-polarization MAS and 2D 1H EXSY, it was shown that the main factor which governs the diameter value of these rigid domains is the presence of interpenetrating segments of soft blocks. The presence of such interpenetrating chains leads to an increase of rigid domain diameter.