Jakov V. Stamenković

The Thermal Degradation of Waterborne Polyurethanes with Catalysts of Different Selectivity

The thermal stability of waterborne polyurethanes was measured by use of the thermogravimetric analysis. Waterborne polyurethanes (wbPUR) with catalysts of different selectivity were characterized using dynamic heating. In the dynamic method, heating rates with increments of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10°C min−1 were used in the range of 30–500°C, to achieve degradations of 0.025, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively. By using more selective catalysts, the resulting total time of decomposition was increased in all cases of degradation degrees for given initial temperature of waterborne polyurethanes. This paper shows how the dynamic method based on thermogravimetric analysis can be used to calculate the thermal stabilities of waterborne polyurethanes, using catalysts of different selectivity.