Influence of Soft Segment Length on the Dielectric Polarization Behavior of Ketal-containing Polyurethane Elastomer

Xue Mei; Wan Lu; Jian-Rong Dong; Ke-Heng Pan; Jun-Jie Tan; Hong-Ye Yan; Jun Wu; Yu Zhou; Hong-Xiang Chen

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3474-8

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Influence of Soft Segment Length on the Dielectric Polarization Behavior of Ketal-containing Polyurethane Elastomer

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-01-13

- Influence of Soft Segment Length on the Dielectric Polarization Behavior of Ketal-containing Polyurethane Elastomer
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 1, Pages: 189-197(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
  b.State Key Laboratory of Advanced Refractories, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
  c.Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis & Reuse Technology, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi 435002, China
- Author bio：
  
  chenhongxiang@wust.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3474-8
  CLC：
- Received：19 August 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-10-02，
  
  Accepted：08 October 2025，
  
  Online First：22 December 2025，
  
  Published：15 January 2026
- Accepted：
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Mei, X.; Lu, W.; Dong, J. R.; Pan, K. H.; Tan, J. J.; Yan, H. Y.; Wu, J.; Zhou, Y.; Chen, H. X. Influence of soft segment length on the dielectric polarization behavior of ketal-containing polyurethane elastomer. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 189–197

Xue Mei, Wan Lu, Jian-Rong Dong, et al. Influence of Soft Segment Length on the Dielectric Polarization Behavior of Ketal-containing Polyurethane Elastomer[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 189-197.
Mei, X.; Lu, W.; Dong, J. R.; Pan, K. H.; Tan, J. J.; Yan, H. Y.; Wu, J.; Zhou, Y.; Chen, H. X. Influence of soft segment length on the dielectric polarization behavior of ketal-containing polyurethane elastomer. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 189–197 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3474-8.

Xue Mei, Wan Lu, Jian-Rong Dong, et al. Influence of Soft Segment Length on the Dielectric Polarization Behavior of Ketal-containing Polyurethane Elastomer[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 189-197. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3474-8.

摘要

The ketal-containing cross-linked polyurethane elastomers were prepared using cyclic ketal diol as a chain extender. As the soft segment length increases

the hard-soft hydrogen bonding decreases

while the hard-hard hydrogen bonding increases. As a result

the dielectric constant shows a decreasing trend

and the dielectric loss also gradually decreases.

Abstract

Polyurethane elastomers exhibit high dielectric constants owing to their polar groups

and can be used as energy storage capacitors. Energy storage depends not only on the dielectric constant but also on the dielectric loss. However

the relationship between chain structure and dielectric properties is not yet clear. Ketal-containing crosslinked polyurethane elastomers were prepared using cyclic ketal diol as a chain extender. The effect of the soft segment length on the dielectric properties and energy storage was investigated. The cause of the change in the dipolar polarization with the soft segment length was analyzed. As the soft segment length increased

the hard-soft hydrogen bonding decreased

whereas the hard-hard hydrogen bonding increased. Under the action of an electric field

the polar bonds in the ketal-containing polyurethane elastomer overcome the hydrogen bonding between hard-soft segments to produce polarization; meanwhile

they also experience crankshaft motions to generate polarization. The former has a relatively high relaxation activation energy of approximately 10−20 kJ∙mol

−1

resulting in a large dielectric loss. The latter has a relatively low relaxation activation energy

approximately 0.7−1.7 kJ∙mol

−1

leading to low dielectric loss. As a result

the dielectric constant showed a decreasing trend

and the dielectric loss gra

dually decreased. This study provides a theoretical foundation for improving the dielectric properties of polyurethane elastomers.

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references

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