L-Lysine Diisocyanate-Based Biodegradable Thermoplastic Polyurethanes with Broad Range of Mechanical Properties

摘要

Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) are an important class of melt-processable thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) that have a diverse range of chemical compositions and physical properties. Many groups, including our own, have investigated biodegradable polyurethanes that incorporate degradable polyester soft segments and various diisocyanate and chain extender hard segments. Varying the ratio of chain extender to diisocyanate in the hard block (HB), or altering the composition and molecular weight of the polyester soft block, dictates the ultimate physical properties for the polymer and influences the ultimate degradation rate. Diisocyanates based on L-lysine and other amino acids have been utilized to synthesize biodegradable polyurethanes that do not produce toxic aromatic amine by-products. In this work, we report a broad range of mechanical properties obtained for L-lysine diisocyanate based TPUs with different soft polyol segments.