Heat-resistant Microporous Star-shaped Casting Polyurethane for Airless Electric Bicycle Tires

Chao-Yang Yuan; Lei Shi; Shang-Chao Ji; Hai-Long Chen; Xiao Tong; Zi-Ying Hao; Xiao-Da Pan; Xian-Ze Yin; Long Zheng

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3491-7

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Heat-resistant Microporous Star-shaped Casting Polyurethane for Airless Electric Bicycle Tires

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-01-30

- Heat-resistant Microporous Star-shaped Casting Polyurethane for Airless Electric Bicycle Tires
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 2, Pages: 474-484(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Hubei Key Laboratory for New Textile Materials and Applications, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China
  b.Innovation Research Institute of Zhejiang Hexin Holding Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Hexin Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Jiaxing 314001, China
- Author bio：
  
  shangchaoji@163.com (S.C.J.)
  krccchl@163.com (H.L.C.)
  lzheng@wtu.edu.cn (L.Z.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3491-7
  CLC：
- Received：08 September 2025，
  
  Accepted：27 October 2025，
  
  Online First：25 December 2025，
  
  Published：05 February 2026
- Accepted：
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Yuan, C. Y.; Shi, L.; Ji, S. C.; Chen, H. L.; Tong, X.; Hao, Z. Y.; Pan, X. D.; Yin, X. Z.; Zheng, L. Heat-resistant microporous star-shaped casting polyurethane for airless electric bicycle tires. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 474–484

Chao-Yang Yuan, Lei Shi, Shang-Chao Ji, et al. Heat-resistant Microporous Star-shaped Casting Polyurethane for Airless Electric Bicycle Tires[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(2): 474-484.
Yuan, C. Y.; Shi, L.; Ji, S. C.; Chen, H. L.; Tong, X.; Hao, Z. Y.; Pan, X. D.; Yin, X. Z.; Zheng, L. Heat-resistant microporous star-shaped casting polyurethane for airless electric bicycle tires. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 474–484 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3491-7.

Chao-Yang Yuan, Lei Shi, Shang-Chao Ji, et al. Heat-resistant Microporous Star-shaped Casting Polyurethane for Airless Electric Bicycle Tires[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(2): 474-484. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3491-7.

摘要

In this work

star-shaped polyether polyols were employed to construct a microporous crosslinked network and to regulate the microphase separation of polyurethane. The obtained casting polyurethane shows enhanced heat resistance and reduced dynamic loss and has been successfully applied in airless electric bicycle tires.

Abstract

Airless tires are essential for enhancing the safety

reliability

and convenience of maintenance of electric bicycles. Polyurethane (PU) is considered a promising candidate for such applications owing to its versatile properties. However

their use is limited by insufficient heat resistance and excessive dynamic heat generation under cyclic loading. In this study

star-shaped trifunctional polypropylene glycerol (PPG3) was incorporated into conventional poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PTMG) and 4

4'-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)-based systems to construct microporous star-shaped casting polyurethanes (SCPU)

with water serving as a green foaming agent. Unlike conventional small-molecule trifunctional crosslinkers that create junctions within hard segment domains

PPG3 introduces long flexible arms between the hard segments

anchoring the crosslinking points at its molecular core. The large steric hindrance of PPG3 effectively suppresses soft segment crystallization and lowers the degree of microphase separation

whereas the crosslinked network restricts chain mobility

thereby reducing dynamic heat generation. These structural features also enhance the heat resistance

yielding a softening temperature of 183 °C

which is 30.9% higher than that of polyurethane without PPG3. When applied to airless tires by casting SCPU into rubber treads

the fabricated hybrid airless tires achieved a rolling distance of over 3000 km under a load of 65 kg at 25 km/h without structural failure

satisfying practical performance requirements. This strategy offers a simple

solvent-free

and environmentally friendly process

underscoring the potential of SCPU for scalable production of high-performance airless tires.

关键词

Keywords

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