Characterization for Pyrolysis of Thermoplastic Polyurethane by Thermal Analyses

The pyrolysis kinetics of polyurethanes synthesized from polycaprolactone diol (PCL) and diisocyanate (HDI, $H_{12}MDI$) using catalysts such as dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) were studied by a thermogravimetric (TG) technique, which involved heating the sample at the rates of 10, 20 and $30^{\circ}C$/min. The effect of the kind of diisocyanate and the hard segment contents on the activation energy and reaction order were examined at conversions ranging from 1 to $100\%$. The activation energies at first increased slowly with increasing conversion. Also, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to investigate the structural differences in each polyurethane. DSC can reveal the melting behavior, in terms of the glass transition temperature ($T_g$), which is known to vary as a function of the stoichiometry and processing conditions.