Water‐soluble polyurethane/CaCO₃ composites for gunpowder storage

Abstract

Modern research areas help develop environmentally benign storage materials in every industry. Herein, we envisage a water-soluble polyurethane binder that can store gunpowder materials with the help of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) as a trial experiment. We successfully fabricated water-soluble polyurethane CaCO 3 composites using the solution polymerization process. We have confirmed the structure of the fabricated composite with the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy noting the appearance of urethane linkage because of amine peaks at a wavenumber of 3200 to 3350 cm −1 , and the results assert that the structure has been developed. The solubility of the composite in water was confirmed by identifying its hydrophilic properties with the help of contact angle measurements and solubilizing a known mass of the composite in water, then filtering the solution. The adherence and mechanical properties of the composites were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy and universal testing machine, the results indicate that the polytetramethylene glycol surface-treated CaCO 3 particles well adhered to the matrix and demonstrated hugely improved tensile strength and Young's modulus. The thermal property of the composites was analyzed with the help of thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry.