Covalent modification of temperature-sensitive breathable polyurethane with carbon nanotubes

ABSTRACT

Intelligent breathable polyurethane (PU) that is easily allowable for vapor transmission at critical temperature would have significant implication for numerous applications; however, fabrication of such materials has proven to be tremendously challenging. Herein, we reported novel breathable polyurethane material covalently modified with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). When an optimal amount of CNTs (0.5 wt%) was added, the resultant PU film presented high waterproofness with hydrostatic pressure up to 10.9 kPa, as well as enhanced mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 22.2 kPa and elongation at break of 990%. This smart PU film has a significant increase in water vapor transmission rate between 18°C (1400 g/(m²·d)) and 38°C (3440 g/(m²·d)). The type of intelligent polyurethane material is a promising candidate for applications in areas such as protective clothing, separator media, and wearable electronics.

KEYWORDS:

• Breathable polyurethane
• carbon nanotubes
• covalent modification
• hydroxyl-terminated ethylene oxide-tetrahydrofuran triblock copolyether
• temperature-sensitive

Funding

We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant numbers 21271125, 21371114 and 21571123), the Program for Science and Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province (2012HASTIT031), Scientific and technological projects of science and Technology Department of Henan province (122102210255), Key Teacher Project of Shangqiu Normal University (2012GGJS15).

Supplemental data

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Additional information

Funding

We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant numbers 21271125, 21371114 and 21571123), the Program for Science and Technology Innovation Talents in Universities of Henan Province (2012HASTIT031), Scientific and technological projects of science and Technology Department of Henan province (122102210255), Key Teacher Project of Shangqiu Normal University (2012GGJS15).