Plant oil based polyurethanes were synthesized using the mixture of PEG-600 and soybean oil polyol

which were prepared by the ring-opening reaction of epoxy soybean oil (ESO).During the synthesis of prepolymer

polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) was introduced into the polyurethane molecular chains through the chemical reaction between OH of POSS and NCO of IPDI.Consequently

a series of nanocomposites with different POSS contents were acquired and numbers of characterizations were taken to evaluate the properties of these materials such as thermal stability

mechanical properties and surface hydrophobicity.TGA results show that under O2 atmosphere

the hybrid polyurethanes display both enhanced initial decomposition temperatures (Td5) and final stable temperature (Tf).Especially

when the POSS mass content reaches 9.27%

the obvious weight loss disappeared.While in terms of DSC

the effects of POSS on glass transition temperature (Tg) seem complex

which would enhance Tg with low POSS contents but weaken with high contents.Mechanical and contact angle test results show that with the introduction of POSS

both the tensile strength and hydrophobicity of hybrid polyurethanes can be enhanced to some extent.The morphology observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that POSS may occur to aggregate with high mass content.Thus an opportunity of future applicability and study in the areas of biodegradable polymers with improved properties can be envisioned in our research method of hybrid polyurethanes.