Synthesis of thermally stable high gloss water dispersible polyurethane/polyacrylate resins

Design and synthesis of some new thermally stable polyurethane/polyacrylate blend resins with high gloss and excellent chemical resistivity has been accomplished. Thus, polyurethane was synthesized from polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) using the conventional prepolymer method. The double bond functionality is introduced by blocking the prepolymer isocyanate groups with acrylamide so as to utilize acrylic acid as a chain extender to make the resin water dispersible. Polyacrylates are prepared by free radical (emulsion seed) polymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA), 2-ethylhexylacrylate (2EHA), butylacrylate (BA) and acrylic acid using potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator. The morphology of polyurethane and polyacrylate is investigated using FTIR spectroscopy and the thermal stability by TGA. The luster of resin is checked by novo gloss meter. Chemical resistivity of the resin films is determined by immersing the films in different solvents. The rationale of current work was to synthesize some high gloss blend resins from some commonly available monomers, having excellent properties suitable for commercial applications. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.