Thermal and mechanical properties of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene-based polyurethane/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanocomposites plasticized with DOA.

Thermal and mechanical properties of PU/POSS nanocomposites plasticized with DOA were investigated. These hybrid materials were prepared using one-step method through the incorporation of flexible HTPB prepolymer, reactive or non-reactive POSS nanoparticle, and DOA plasticizer under IPDI curative system. The plasticizer added into PU/POSS composites decreased glass transition temperature, mechanical strength and modulus, while the change of thermal stability was modest. Thermal stability of these hybrid composites was found to depend preferably on characteristics of POSS molecules incorporated.