Synthesis and characterization of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer for propellants

Nitroester plastisized thermoplastic Ether/Ester polyurethane elastomer suitable for thermoplastic propellent binders were prepared basing on polyethylene adipate, ethylene oxide/tetrahydrofuran random copolyether, isophorone diisocyanate and 1, 4-butanediol. Melt-prepolymerization method was adopted to synthesize thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer with different fraction of hard segments. GPC, FTIR, tensile test techniques and the miscibility with nitrate ester were applied to make further characterization of the TPUE. It shows that the TPUE has a higher molecular weight (Mn̄>50000) with polyurethane characterization and exhibits excellent integrate properties to meet requirements of lower T_g of soft segments and good miscibility with nitrate ester and mechanical properties.