The preparation and characterization of Fe-octacarboxyl acid phthalocyanine-polyethylene glycol/polyurethane blends

In this paper, Fe-octacarboxyl acid phthalocyanine substituted by polyethylene glycol (FeOCAP-PEG) was synthesized. FeOCAP-PEG had good solubility in solvents such as DMAc, DMSO and so on. FeOCAP-PEG/polyurethane (PU) blends were prepared by solution blending. Good compatibility was found between FeOCAP-PEG and PU matrix. FeOCAP was dispersed in the hard segments of PU, while the side chain of PEG was dispersed in the soft segments of PU. Tensile tests showed that the tensile strength, the elongation at break and tensile energy of the samples were improved with increasing FeOCAP-PEG content. The improved mechanical properties were due to the strong interaction formed between FeOCAP-PEG and hard segments of PU, which was investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The degree of microphase separation of the samples increased with increasing FeOCAP-PEG content. The flexibility, the moisture absorption and the antibacterial properties of the samples were also improved with increasing FeOCAP-PEG content.