UV-curable acrylic end-capped amphoteric waterborne polyurethane coatings

Waterborne polyurethane dispersions (WPUs) are environmentally friendly coatings since they present low amount of volatile organic compound amounts (VOCs). In the majority of the WPUs the dispersions are balanced with anionic groups and accordingly their stability at low pH is limited. In order to this drawback to be solved, in this work a tertiary amine containing chain extender (triethanolamine, TEOA) was introduced together with a conventional internal emulsifier (carboxylic acid) in acrylic end-capped polyurethane dispersions giving rise to amphoteric UV curable WPUs. After adding a radical photo-initiator and film formation, the coatings were cured under UV irradiation. The properties of amphoteric and anionic dispersions were compared. The best properties were obtained for the samples containing a 1/1 amine/acid molar ratio. Thus, while the anionic dispersions coagulated at low pH values, the 1/1 amphoteric dispersion showed high stability to pH changes. After curing this sample with UV irradiation, the gel content of the film was higher and the water vapour transmission rate was lower than that of the anionic polyurethane because of the strong acid/base interaction. The results showed that the amphoteric WPUs are promising for various applications, offering stability over a wider pH range than traditional formulations.