Number: 2002-052-1-400
Title: Structure and properties
of polyester elastomers composed of poly(butyleneterephthalate)
and poly(e-caprolactone)
Task Group
Chairman: Toshikazu
Takigawa
Members: Toshiro
Masuda, Masaoki
Takahashi, Kazuo
Nakayama, Koh-hei
Nitta, Tadashi Inoue,
Chul Rim Choe, Bing-Zheng
Jiang, and Jiasong
He
Completion Date: 2007 - project completed
Objective:
To evaluate the relationship among the chemical structure, the higher-order
structure, and the mechanical and rheological properties of the
elastomers.
Description:
The idea of thermoplastic elastomers brought a big innovation to
the rubber industry as well as the field of the polymer science.
The rubber materials, which have no need of vulcanization and are
easy to be recycled, have attracted the technological and academic
interests for these years. The mechanical performance of the thermoplastic
elastomers is strongly affected by the higher-order structure of
hard segments of the chains. The domain is a glassy amorphous phase
or a crystalline phase. Among the several types of thermoplastic
elastomers, the polyester-type elastomers are specifically interesting
because the characteristics cover from rubber to plastics, in some
cases to engineering plastics, according to the structure of crystalline
domain of hard segments. The aim of this project is to make clear
the structure-properties relation of polyester-type elastomers categorized
in engineering elastomers, composed of poly(butyleneterephthalate)
as the hard segment and poly(e-caprolactone)
or poly(tetramethyleneglycol) as the soft segment.