Design and damping properties of hindered phenol AO-80/bio-based polyurethane elastomer composites

Driven by the demands of environmental protection and sustainable development, bio-based polyurethanes exhibit promising application prospects as green damping materials. However, research on their application in vibration and noise reduction remains insufficient, and their damping performance still requires further enhancement. In this work, a bio-based polyurethane elastomer was synthesized using bio-based poly (trimethylene ether) glycol (PO3G) as the soft segment. Composites of the hindered phenol AO-80 and the bio-based polyurethane elastomer were prepared via physical blending. A systematic characterization of hydrogen bonding interactions, mechanical properties, and damping behavior was conducted using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, tensile testing, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The experimental results indicate that with the increasing AO-80 content results in stronger hydrogen bonding within the composites strengthens.Consequently, the tensile strength improved from 6.3 MPa to 10.2 MPa, the elongation at break increased from 209% to 321%, the glass transition temperature rose from -43.2 ℃ to -23.8 ℃, and the maximum loss factor (tanδ_max) enhanced from 0.71 to 1.06. This work provides a novel approach for developing high-performance bio-based polyurethane damping materials.