Incidence of the polyol nature in waterborne polyurethane dispersions on their performance as coatings on stainless steel

Three waterborne polyurethane dispersions derived from polyester, polyether and polycarbonate diols with molecular weight of 1000 Da were synthesized by the acetone method and used as coatings on stainless steel 304 plates. The properties of the dispersions and the polyurethane films were influenced by the polyol nature. The polyurethanes obtained with polyether or polyester showed higher degree of phase separation between the soft and the hard segment. The higher adhesive strength under shear stresses was obtained in the joints produced with the waterborne dispersion obtained with polycarbonate diol. The properties of the polyurethane coating obtained with polycarbonate diol on stainless steel 304 were significantly higher as compared with the others. Improved performance of coatings obtained with polycarbonate diol was ascribed to the higher polarity of the carbonate groups that contributed to additional hydrogen bond formation between soft segments with respect to those obtained with polyether or polyester (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.