Polyurethane (PU) is one of the most versatile polymers, playing a vital role in many industries. The application fields of polyurethanes range from adhesives, sealants, flexible and rigid foams, coatings, insulation, to elastomers. Research is aimed at improving the performance of existing polyurethanes and developing new functional polyurethanes containing well-defined high-performance structural motifs and hydrogen-bonding groups. The self-assembly and morphology of the novel polyurethanes will be studied and their properties fully characterized.
State-of-the-art characterization facilities are available in-house. For instance, NMR and IR spectroscopy are used for the chemical characterization of newly formed monomers and polymers. Thermal properties are analyzed via DSC and TGA and their mechanical performance is tested with DMA and tensile tests.