Polyurethane Impregnation for Improving the Mechanical and the Water Resistance of Polypropylene-Based Textiles

Abstract

Commercial waterborne polyurethane (PU) dispersions, different in chemistry and selected on the basis of eco-friendly components, have been applied to a common polypropylene (PP)-based woven fabric. Impregnation has been chosen as a textile treatment for improving the features of basic technical textiles in light of potential applicability in luggage and bag production. The effect of drying method, performed under conditions achieved by varying the process temperature and pressure, on the features of the treated textiles, has been verified. The prepared specimens were characterized in terms of mechanical behavior (tensile, tear and abrasion resistance) and water resistance (surface wettability and hydrostatic pressure throughout the treated textiles). The experimental results suggest an incremental improvement of the tensile features for all the investigated specimens. For tear strength, no augmentation compared to that of the neat textile, could be verified as a consequence of polyurethane treatment. Remarkable improvements of abrasion resistance were displayed for all the impregnated PP textiles. Benefits in water resistance could be attributed to the presence of hydrophobic PU in the textile weaving of the PP samples. The ultimate improvement in water resistance was dependent on drying conditions.

Synthesis and Characterization of New Polycarbonate-Based Poly(thiourethane-urethane)s

“…Polyurethanes (PUs) are an important group of polymers that have a number of unique properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], which provides opportunities for their use in various industries, e.g., packaging, electronic, automotive, construction, building and medicine [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. The various applications of polyurethanes also include the modification of textiles in order to provide them with increased mechanical strength and water resistance [ 12 , 13 ]. Among polyurethane materials, we can distinguish foams, adhesives, varnishes, fibers, elastomers, etc.…”

“…PUs are generally formed by reacting diisocyanates with polyols or diamines [ 2 ]. Flexible polyol macro-chains have low glass transition temperatures ( T g ) and form soft segments (SS), while hydrogen-bonded urethane linkages create hard segments (HS) of the polymer network structure [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 13 ]. These segments may be self-soluble with good mixing or may remain separate as segmented polyurethane (SPU)-forming domains.…”

“…Hydrogen bonding among hard and hard segments (HS-HS) and hard and soft segments (HS-SS) is created due to the presence of polar functional N-H and C=O groups on PU chains. The level of miscibility of HS and SS relies on the amount of hydrogen bonding between these segments [ 2 , 7 , 8 , 13 ]. In situations where there is a stronger hydrogen bond between HS and HS, phase separation is predominant, resulting in high performance products [ 1 , 3 ].…”

The Influence of Diisocyanate Structure on Thermal Stability of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers Based on Diphenylmethane-Derivative Chain Extender with Sulfur Atoms

“…Unluckily, these polymers tend to yellow when exposed to heat or light because of the formation of quinone-imide structures, limiting their applications for external use. In turn, aliphatic and cycloaliphatic diisocyanates allow to obtain materials resistant to both light and heat, characterized also by a greater degree of microphase separation and improved resistance to hydrolytic degradation, often at the expense of deterioration of mechanical properties [ 17 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Similar to diisocyanates, chain extenders can contain aliphatic or aromatic units.…”

Towards the Sustainability of the Plastic Industry through Biopolymers: Properties and Potential Applications to the Textiles World

“…Polymers 2022, 14, 692 2 of 27 However, bio-based materials, i.e., a broad class of organic constituents produced from renewable resources endowed with specific structural and functional characteristics such as biodegradability, composability, or biocompatibility, could offer a potential solution to replace the conventional plastics (primarily made from polyester (PET) [9,10], polyamide (PA), and polypropylene (PP) [11][12][13]) involved in fabric and yarn production [14]. Biopolymers can be used in the textile industry as the constituent base material for the production of filaments and yarns, or to replace harmful chemicals in pre-treatment and finishing operations by providing textile substates with various potential functionalities, such as antibacterial and flame-retardant activity, UV protection, electric conductivity, and hydrophobicity [15].…”