Investigating the Effect of DBTDL Catalyst on Curing Kinetic of Polyurethane using Differential Scanning Calorimetry: HTPB/TDI vs. HTPB/IPDI

The aim of this research was the investigation on kinetic of curing reaction of polyurethane binder based on hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB). This reaction is of particular interest in advanced polyurethane composite materials.

HTPB diol was dynamically cured using differential scanning calorimetery (DSC) at different heating rates (5, 10, 20 and 40° C/min) with curing agents of Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) and Isophorone Diisocyanate (IPDI) in presence and absence of Dibutyltin Dilaurate (DBTDL) catalyst. Kinetic parameters were calculated using Kissinger, Ozawa and isoconversion models. Urethane formation and viscosity build-up during cure reaction was studied by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and rotational visocmetery (RV) methods.

Results showed that activation energy, enthalpy, progress and the rate of reaction were influenced by type of curing agent and the presence of catalyst. Kinetic models showed activation energy was reduced about 1 kJ/mol at each 0.05 unit increase in the degree of cure. The activation energy of HTPB-TDI-DBTDL binder system versus degree of cure was reduced slower in comparison to HTPB-IPDI-DBTDL binder system. Decrease in activation energy at degrees of cure higher than 90% was intensified as probable diffusion of low molecular weight molecules into polymer chains. Enthalpy of reaction in HTPB-TDI-DBTDL binder system at heating rates of higher than 10° C/min was independent of heating rate, whereas in HTPB-IPDI-DBTDL binder system the enthalpy of reaction is highly dependent on heating rate. Chemorheological results showed that rate of curing reaction for binder systems are in the order of HTPB-TDI-DBTDL>HTPB-IPDI-DBTDL>HTPB-TDI.