NMR study of water bound to soft segments in thermoplastic elastomers

The interaction between water absorbed in four hard-soft segment blockcopolymers and the polymer chains is investigated by pulsed field gradient echo NMR spectroscopy and Nuclear Overhauser NMR spectroscopy. The results show, depending on the structure and mass fraction of the soft segments, a strong interaction between water and the soft segments. Most likely this is due to a hydrogen bond between water and the ether groups. The self-diffusion of water has been determined and is described as a jumping process between the ether sites with a residence time τ and a time between sites t. It is found that the residence time is of the order of a few ns and also that the ratio t/τ decreases with increasing soft segment rigidity.