Water Swelling Behavior of Poly(ethylene glycol)-Based Polyurethane Networks.

Defects in a polymer network complicate an accurate calculation of structural parameters such as the molar mass between cross-links , typically obtained from experimental swelling data. In this paper the formation and structure of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based polyurethane networks containing PEG-mono methyl ether dangling chains are studied. The phantom network model can describe the swelling behavior of these networks only when a composition-dependent interaction parameter is used and the formation of allophanates is accounted for.