Synthesis and thermal properties of soybean oil-based waterborne polyurethane coatings

Waterborne polyurethane coatings were prepared by a polyaddition reaction using toluene diisocyanate (TDI), 2,2-di(hydroxy-methyl) propionic acid, soy-based polyols with different hydroxyl values, plus 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as chain termination agent, triethylamine as neutralization agent, and DBTDL as catalyst. Six soybean oil-based polyols were used in this study with hydroxyl values of 100, 115, 128, 140, 155, and 164 mg KOH g(-1), respectively. The molar ratio of polyol hydroxyl to DMPA was varied from 1.6 to 2.6. The storage stability of the waterborne polyurethane coatings was greater than 6 months. The thermal properties of the coating films were investigated by TG and DCS. The results show that the soy-based polyurethane films decomposed in three stages. The glass transition temperatures, T (g), of the soy-based polyurethane films increased with the hydroxyl number of the soy-based polyol.