Preparation and characterization of guar gum based polyurethanes

Guar gum (plant-based polysaccharide) is a promising candidate with immense potential. It is used as emulsifier, thickener, stabilizer, and as binding agent in many industries. In the present project, it was planned to synthesize guar gum based polyurethanes by varying the amount of guar gum. Guar gum (GG) was used along with hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) as soft segment, which was then reacted with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) to form PU pre-polymers. In last step, these -NCO terminated pre-polymers were extended with 1,4 butane diol as chain extender. The prepared polyurethane samples were then characterized by using FTIR, solid-state (HNMR)-H-1 and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermal behavior of the samples was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results indicated that the incorporation of guar gum in PU backbone improved its thermal behavior and crystallinity.