Polyurethane (PU) resins are frequently used to impart the durable water repellencyto textile fabrics. Organic solvents are generally employed in the dissolution of highlyhydrophobic polyols for PU preparation. In doing so, the generation of a large amount ofvolatile organic compounds (VOCs) is inevitable. Waterborne PU resins have been developedto alleviate the VOC-related environmental pollution issues. Still, their thermal andphysical properties are not comparable to those of solvent-type PU resins. In this study, twowaterborne PU resins are synthesized using a siloxane-based polyol with thermal stabilityand flexibility and a carbonate-based polyol exhibiting outstanding physical properties.
Various mixture compositions are evaluated to optimize the resulting physical properties.
The obtained properties include a decomposition temperature of 342.1 °C, tensile strengthof 5.61 MPa, an elongation of 885%, a light-resistant grade of 4, and an abrasion-resistantgrade of 3. In addition, the PU-treated fabric showed a high contact angle and producedexcellent water repellent surfaces.