Filler Effects Inspired High Performance Polyurethane Elastomer Design: Segment Arrangement Control

Abstract

Elastomers with high strength and toughness are in great demand. Previous research on elastomers mainly focuses on design of new chemical structures, but the complicated synthesis process and expensive monomers have restricted the practical application of these materials. Inspired by general filler effects, a strategy is proposed to remarkably enhance the mechanical properties of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomers by designing the arrangement of hard/soft segments using the traditional chemical compositions. By utilizing the synergetic effect of weak hard segments, the normal TPU elastomers is upgraded into advanced elastomers. Combining experiments and simulations, it is demonstrated that a proper sequence length can achieve considerably enhanced strength and toughness by maximum the relative surface area of hard domains. Mixing the obtained elastomer with ionic liquid can result in a durable ionogel sensor with balanced mechanical strength and ionic conductivity. This easy-to-implement strategy offers a new dimension for the development of high-performance elastomers.