Abstract
This paper describes the first example of utilization of myo-inositol, a naturally occurring hexaol with a cyclohexyl core, as a multifunctional monomer for synthesizing networked polymers. Polyaddition of myo-inositol with several diisocyanates gave the corresponding networked polymers, which consisted of cyclohexyl moieties inherited from myoinositol and urethane linkages formed by the polyaddition. The networked polyurethanes thus obtained exhibited excellent heat resistance presumably due to the incorporation of the rigid cycloaliphatic structures. Addition of polyethylene glycol to the present polyaddition system resulted in the increase in flexibility of the networked polymers, permitting their fabrication into flexible and transparent films.
