Synthesis and characterizations of antifungal polyurethanes with enhanced tensile and shape recovery performances.

Benzimidazole as an antifungal agent and poly(acrylic acid) as a hydrophilic group were grafted together onto polyurethane (PU) to synthesis the antifungal PU. Benzimidazole was chosen as a key antifungal agent because of its proven fungal growth control against a wide spectrum of fungi. The hydrophilicity of antifungal PU was notably escalated after the grafting of poly(acrylic acid) based on the water contact angle results, but the melting and glass transition of soft segment in PU did not notably change by the grafting of benzimidazole and poly(acrylic acid). The synthesized antifungal PUs exhibited a sharp increase in the breaking tensile stress and shape recovery due to the slight chemical cross‐linking between PUs. The benzimidazole‐grafted PUs containing the poly(acrylic acid) demonstrated a clear suppression in the growth of a group of fungi. Therefore, the antifungal PUs with enhanced tensile strength and shape recovery capability were successfully synthesized using the combined grafting of benzimidazole and poly(acrylic acid) onto PU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]