Phase separation in the interpenetrating polymeric network on the basis of polyurethane and polyurethane acrylates

Abstract Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) of polyurethane and polyurethane acrylate were obtained. A small‐angle x‐ray scattering technique was used to study the character of the microheterogeneities in IPN and their variation with composition. It was shown that IPN formation is accompanied by phase separation of constituent components. On the basis of experimental data, which involved the mean square of fluctuations of electron densities in IPN, scattering intensity extrapolated to the zero angle, thickness of the transition layer between two phases, degrees of component segregation and diffuseness of phase boundary, degree of miscibility of components on the molecular level, specific inner surface, and the extent of the heterogeneous regions and their mean radius were determined. Parameters that characterize the intensity of microphase separation are dependent on composition: at a higher content of PUA the segregation degree is higher than that of low content. The dimensions of the heterogeneous regions, which extend from one network to the matrix of the other, depend on the composition of IPN and changes most sharply in the range of mean composition due to phase inversion. Thickness of the transition layer ranges from 20 to 40 Å.