Soybean oil-isosorbide-based waterborne polyurethane-urea dispersions.

A series of soybean oil-based amide diol-isosorbide waterborne polyurethane-urea (PUU) dispersions have been successfully prepared, with amounts of isosorbide ranging from 0 to 20 wt % of the total diol content. The thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting PUU films have been characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and mechanical testing. The results reveal that the glass transition temperature is increased with increased amounts of isosorbide, and the mechanical properties are improved significantly with the incorporation of isosorbide. For example, the Young's modulus increases from 2.3 to 63 MPa and the ultimate tensile strength increases from 0.7 to 8.2 MPa when the isosorbide amount is increased from 0 to 20 wt %. The thermal stability decreases slightly with the incorporation of isosorbide. This work provides a new way of utilizing biorenewable materials, such as isosorbide and a soybean oil-based amide diol, for the preparation of high-performance polyurethane-urea coatings.