Facile preparation of homogenous waterborne poly(urethane/acrylate) composites and the correlation between microstructure and improved properties

Abstract

Abstract Homogenous waterborne polyurethane/polyacrylate emulsions were synthesized based on the prepared polyurethane and polyacrylate through a facile process. The attention was attracted to the miscibility and performance of waterborne polyurethane and polyacrylate. The structures and properties of waterborne polyurethane and waterborne polyurethane/polyacrylate samples were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X‐ray diffractometer, thermogravimetric, and so forth, as well as solid content and tensile testing. The results showed that the micro morphology of waterborne polyurethane/polyacrylate emulsion presented single‐phase structure with the stoichiometric polyacrylate content increasing from 33% to 80% to waterborne polyurethane. The waterborne polyurethane/polyacrylate films surface is rich in polyacrylate phase. Meanwhile, waterborne polyurethane/polyacrylate composites showed significant improvement in thermal stability and elongation at break, smaller particle size and narrower particle size distribution comparing with waterborne polyurethane.