Preparation,Morphology and Properties of Waterborne-Polyurethane/Silica

A series of waterborne-polyurethane/silica (WPU/SiO₂) were prepared from isophoronediisocyanate, polyester polyol, dimethylolpropionic acid, tetraethoxysilane and 3-glycidyloxypropyl trimethoxysilane. The WPU/SiO₂ dispersion had narrower particle size distribution than the pure WPU. The mechanical properties of WPU/SiO₂ films were improved than the pure WPU. WPU/SiO₂ films were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, AFM, XRD and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results showed that WPU/ SiO₂ hybrid films were found to be smooth morphology, and had good thermal stability and tunable transparence with the silica fraction in the film. Through suitable adjustment of silica content, some thin films have potential applications as the specialty materials.