Synthesis of a novel hydrophobic polyurea gel from CO2 and amino-modified polysiloxane

Carbon dioxide, as a carbonyl source to replace the highly toxic isocyanate, was used to prepare a new type of polyurea with amino modified polysiloxane in this work. The formation of both the modified polysiloxane and polyureas were confirmed by FT-IR spectra, H-1 NMR spectrum and C-13 NMR spectrum. The thermo-stability, solubility as well as the hydrophilicity was examined; the polysiloxane could be soluble in several polar solvents like acetone, THF, ethanol and so on. The polyureas are stable at temperature lower than 150 degrees C, and the synthesized polyureas are hydrophobic as they have a water contact angles larger than 90 degrees. Moreover, the polyurea containing high urea linkage content presented excellent absorption for some organic solvents, such as C2H3Cl3, thus it is expected to have an application in removing organic pollutants on river. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.