Surface activity and solubilization of a novel series of functional polyurethane surfactants

摘要

Functional polyurethane surfactants (di-block and tri-block) were synthesized by addition polymerization of 2,4-toluenediisocyanate with poly (propylene oxide) and monoallyl-end-capped poly(ethylene oxide).The chemical structure of the polyurethane surfactants was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and ~1H NMR spectroscopy.These polymeric surfactants were found to have excellent surface activity.The lowest surface tension of polyurethane surfactant aqueous solutions could be reduced to 37.6 mN m~(-1).All the polyurethane surfactants synthesized had low critical micelle concentrations and could reduce the surface tension even at very low concentration levels (10~(-6)-10~(-5) mol L~(-1)).The solubilization of toluene in micelles of the synthesized polyurethane surfactants was studied using UV-visible spectroscopy,and the results showed that they all exhibited good solubilization capacity.Possible solubilization positions of toluene in the micelles are conjectured.