The inclusion of a salicylate derivative in polyurethane structures and its effect on the properties and the stability of polyurethanes exposed to weathering

ABSTRACT Polyurethanes are highly sought after polymer materials due to their exceptional properties. These properties can be expanded by including 2-hydroxyethyl salicylate in its chemical structure in order to obtain active polymer materials with anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. These polymers can be used in the manufacture of footwear, stockings and clothing. Furthermore, in order to improve mechanical properties, glycerol and its derivatives with various hydroxy-aliphatic chains can be incorporated into the polyurethanes. Changing the chemical structure of the hard segment (through chain extender amount and crosslinker’s structure) may yield improved or modified properties and uses for these polyurethanes, which can be identified by investigating the structure–property relationships for these materials. The incorporation of a crosslinker with longer hydroxy-aliphatic chains (glycerol ethoxylate (Star-PEG)) has significantly improved the mechanical resistance of the polyurethane. At the same time, Star-PEG-polyurethane preserved its very good properties after a year of outdoor environmental exposure, without exposure to direct sunlight. The inclusion of the salicylate component in the polyurethane hard segments develops new and interesting ways to obtain polyurethane elastomers for biomedical applications. We intend to study in detail the medical properties of these polyurethane materials and their maintenance over time in a future paper.