Morphological and thermal studies of chitin-curcumin blends derived polyurethanes

Area of Science:

• Polymer Science and Materials Chemistry
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Polyurethanes (PUs) are versatile polymers with broad applications.
• Developing sustainable and functional PUs is an ongoing research area.
• Chitin and curcumin offer unique properties for material enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel ecofriendly polyurethanes derived from chitin, curcumin, and 1,4-butane diol (BDO).
• To investigate the effect of incorporating chitin, curcumin, and BDO on the structural, morphological, swelling, and thermal properties of polyurethanes.
• To determine the optimal mole ratio for enhanced material performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of chitin/curcumin/BDO blend derived polyurethanes using hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI).
• Structural and morphological analysis using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
• Swelling behavior analysis in water and DMSO, and thermal analysis using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).

Main Results:

• The FTIR and SEM analyses confirmed the successful formation and structure of the PU blends.
• Incorporation of chitin was found to increase hydrophobicity and decrease the swelling rate of the PU films.
• The optimal mole ratio of 1:0.5:0.5 (chitin:curcumin:BDO) demonstrated superior thermal stability as evidenced by TGA and DSC.

Conclusions:

• Novel ecofriendly chitin/curcumin/BDO blend polyurethanes were successfully synthesized.
• The developed materials exhibit tunable hydrophobicity and enhanced thermal stability.
• The optimal formulation shows significant potential for advanced material applications requiring these properties.