Prog. Polym. Sci. 32 (2007) 352–418 Structural engineering of polyurethane coatings for high performance applications $ D.K. Chattopadhyay 1 , K.V.S.N. Raju Organic Coatings and Polymers Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad 500007, India Received 24 August 2005; received in revised form 12 May 2006; accepted 12 May 2006 Available online 24 January 2007 Abstract This review addresses trends in the development of high performance polyurethane (PU) and its subclass coatings. Changes in the understanding the technical requirements and properties, along with novel approaches in creating high performance PU films are discussed. Some discussion of developments leading to the current status is provided, along with opportunities for the development of architectural, domestic and automotive coatings from carbamate chemistry. The review also focuses on the chemistry of PU, the importance of side products such as biuret, allophanate formation, as well as different low VOC PU coatings such as moisture-cured PU-urea, polyurea, PU-imide, UV cure and waterborne PU coatings. A brief description of functionalized dendritic/hyperbranched polymers, different monomers and synthetic approaches, and their use in the PU coating sector is addressed. In the context of nanostructuring, sol–gel chemistry to formulate ceramer coatings and use of functionalized nanomaterials in PU coatings is described. This portion also includes silica grafting and functionalization of nanosilica particles, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and the use of bridged polysilsesquioxanes in PU coatings. A wide variety of fillers, whiskers and fibers as well as clay and wollastonites with structural modification is described for use in nanocomposite PU coatings, with special emphasis on the latest development in PU-layered silicate nanocomposites.The use of different reactive-type organophosphorus compounds, aziridinyl curing agents in aqueous PU dispersions, phosphazenes, organo-boranes such as different carboranes for use in the formulation of flame retardant coatings is described. Since surface properties determine the resistivity of coatings towards corrosive chemicals, moisture and dirt repellency, a portion of the review will also be devoted towards modification of surface properties using fluoropolymer, and the synthesis and a brief description of the available fluorinated diols is given. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Polyurethane; Coatings; Hyperbranched; Nanostructuring; High performance Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................... 354 1.1. Polyurethane (PU) ............................................................ 354 ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/ppolysci 0079-6700/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2006.05.003 $ IICT Communication No. 061119. Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 40 27160123; fax: +91 40 27193991. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (K.V.S.N. Raju). 1 Present address: Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials, 1735 Research Park Drive NDSU Research and Technology Park, North Dakota State University Fargo, ND-58105, USA.
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ARTICLE IN PRESS
0079-6700/$ - se
doi:10.1016/j.pr
$IICT Com�CorrespondE-mail addr
1Present addr
North Dakota
Prog. Polym. Sci. 32 (2007) 352–418
www.elsevier.com/locate/ppolysci
Structural engineering of polyurethane coatings forhigh performance applications$
D.K. Chattopadhyay1, K.V.S.N. Raju�
Organic Coatings and Polymers Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad 500007, India
Received 24 August 2005; received in revised form 12 May 2006; accepted 12 May 2006
Available online 24 January 2007
Abstract
This review addresses trends in the development of high performance polyurethane (PU) and its subclass coatings.
Changes in the understanding the technical requirements and properties, along with novel approaches in creating high
performance PU films are discussed. Some discussion of developments leading to the current status is provided, along with
opportunities for the development of architectural, domestic and automotive coatings from carbamate chemistry. The
review also focuses on the chemistry of PU, the importance of side products such as biuret, allophanate formation, as well
as different low VOC PU coatings such as moisture-cured PU-urea, polyurea, PU-imide, UV cure and waterborne PU
coatings. A brief description of functionalized dendritic/hyperbranched polymers, different monomers and synthetic
approaches, and their use in the PU coating sector is addressed. In the context of nanostructuring, sol–gel chemistry to
formulate ceramer coatings and use of functionalized nanomaterials in PU coatings is described. This portion also includes
silica grafting and functionalization of nanosilica particles, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and the use of bridged
polysilsesquioxanes in PU coatings. A wide variety of fillers, whiskers and fibers as well as clay and wollastonites with
structural modification is described for use in nanocomposite PU coatings, with special emphasis on the latest development
in PU-layered silicate nanocomposites.The use of different reactive-type organophosphorus compounds, aziridinyl curing
agents in aqueous PU dispersions, phosphazenes, organo-boranes such as different carboranes for use in the formulation
of flame retardant coatings is described. Since surface properties determine the resistivity of coatings towards corrosive
chemicals, moisture and dirt repellency, a portion of the review will also be devoted towards modification of surface
properties using fluoropolymer, and the synthesis and a brief description of the available fluorinated diols is given.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Polyurethane; Coatings; Hyperbranched; Nanostructuring; High performance
Economic competitiveness and environmentalconcerns have driven the coating technologist toexplore newer chemistry and approaches to improvethe efficiency of organic coatings at a minimumvolatile organic component (VOC). Organic coat-ings or paints on a substrate give aestheticappearance as well as protection from the destruc-tive phenomenon known as corrosion. Coatings canprovide materials with the desired aestheticalproperties such as color and gloss, but are of vitalimportance in the protection against environmentalinfluences, including moisture, radiation, biologicaldeterioration or damage from mechanical or che-mical origin. This applies to both interior andexterior applications. The effectiveness of protectionof a substrate against natural deterioration dependson factors such as the quality of the coating, thesubstrate characteristics, the properties of the coat-ing/substrate interface, and the corrosiveness of theenvironment. Typical corrosion-resistant coatingsprotect the metallic surfaces primarily by twomechanisms: by acting as a physical barrier toisolate the substrate from corrosive environment,and by containing reactive materials (usually pig-ments or inhibitors) that interact with a componentof the vehicle and inhibit corrosion. The increaseddemands for improved technical performance and/or minimized VOC level have motivated researchon the development of new coating systems byboth industrial and academic organizations. Thechallenge within the industry is to maintain orimprove properties at a reasonable cost, whileat the same time meeting the need for environmen-tally friendly coatings. Several new technolo-gies, such as radiation curable, waterborne andpowder coatings have obtained an increased marketshare since they address some of these issues.On the other hand, solvent-borne coatings havehad particular prominence in the area of industrialcoatings, where performance is essential. Therefore,some researchers have focused on methods toimprove the solid content of the binder by utilizingrelatively low molecular weight polymer that buildin properties during cure through the formation ofcrosslink networks. The presence of crosslinksprovides thermoset coatings with enhanced tensilestrength, good abrasion and mar resistance as wellas acid, alkali and solvent resistance, which arelacking in thermoplastic coatings. During thedevelopment of new systems, numerous aspects
must be considered: the production of the coatingformulation, storage of the coating, application andfilm formation must work with the techniquesintended.
Current research on coatings has led two veryactive frontiers: the discovery of a new class ofmacromolecular architecture, called dendritic/hy-perbranched polymers (HBPs) and the nanotech-nology revolution. The presence of a minimumquantity of a reactive dendritic/HBP in a coatingcan improve the property profile, and at a reason-able cost, but success requires an understanding ofthe physical issues and careful planning. Thepossibility of gaining improved performance bycombining the properties of organic and inorganiccomponents in coatings has a long history, withexamples from the beginning in the industrial era.Some of the earliest and most well known organi-c–inorganic mixtures are derived from the paint andpolymer industries, where inorganic pigments orfillers are dispersed in organic components orbinders (solvents, surfactants, polymers, etc.) toimprove optical, mechanical and thermal properties.However, the concept of hybrid organic–inorganicmaterials exploded with development of the softinorganic chemistry approach, where mild synthe-tic conditions allow versatile access to chemicallytailor hybrid organic–inorganic networks. Subse-quent research shifted towards more sophisticatednanocomposite coatings with higher value-addedproducts. Other major coating research and devel-opments include the improvement in flame retar-dancy and surface properties. Latest developmentsin improving the surface properties of coatingsexposed to a highly corrosive environment has ledto structural engineering in the macromolecularbinder with high fluorine content at the surface. Dueto the small size and high charge density of fluorine,such coatings have high resistivity towards corrosivechemicals, and are gaining importance as bindersfor exterior coatings. In this review, the majordevelopments will be discussed with an emphasis toPU and its subgroup coatings in an effort to conveya unified concept, and to provide a basis for futuredevelopments.
1.1. Polyurethane (PU)
Otto Bayer and coworkers at I.G. Ferbenindustri,Germany in 1937 were the first to discover PUs inresponse to the competive challenge [1] arising fromCarother’s work on polyamides, or nylons, at E.I.
Dupont. The successful development of highmolecular weight polyamides at E.I. Dupontstimulated Bayer to investigate similar materialsnot covered by Dupont’s patent. The initial workwas the reaction of aliphatic isocyanate with adiamine to form polyurea which was infusible andhydrophilic. Further research on this subject de-monstrated the reaction of an aliphatic isocyanatewith a glycol produces new materials with interest-ing properties. Dupont and ICI soon recognized thedesirable elastic properties of PUs. The industrialscale production of PU started in 1940, but marketgrowth of PU was seriously impacted by World WarII. A noticeable improvement in the elastomericproperties PU waited until 1952, when polyisocya-nate, especially toluene diisocyanate (TDI), becomecommercially available. In 1952–1954, Bayer devel-oped different polyester–polyisocyanate system. In1958, Schollenberger of BF Goodrich introduced anew virtually crosslinked thermoplastic PU elasto-mer. At approximately the same time, Dupontintroduced a Spandex fibre called Lycra, which is aPU based on polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG),4,40-diphenylmethylene diisocyanate (MDI) andethylene diamine. By the early 1960s, BF Goodrichproduced Estane, Mobay marketed Texin, andUpjohn marketed Pallethane in the USA. Bayerand Elastgran marketed Desmopan and Elastollan,respectively in Europe [2]. With the development oflow-cost polyether polyols, PU coatings opened thedoor for automotive applications. Formulationsand processing techniques continuously developedas one- and two-pack systems were developed. ThePU coating industry has entered a stage of stableprogress and advanced technological exploitation.Today, PU coatings can be found on many differentmaterials, to improve their appearance and lifespan.On automobiles, PU coatings give the demandedexterior high gloss, improved color retention,improved scratch and corrosion resistance. Differ-ent types of PU coatings are used in construction,where building floors, steel trusses and concretesupports are spray coated to make them moredurable against environmental deterioration andless costly to maintain.
The wide applicability of PU coatings is due toversatility in selection of monomeric materials froma huge list of macrodiols, diisocyanates and chainextender (CE). The chemistry involved in thesynthesis of PU is centered on the isocyanatereactions. The three important components of PUsare macrodiol, diisocyanate and CE. The synthesis
of PU involves a simple reaction between a di- orpolyisocyanate with a di- and/or polyol.
1.2. Reactions of isocyanate
Isocyanates are highly reactive chemicals andcreate several chemically different products whencombined with –OH and –NH functional sub-stances. Desired products and side products areformed in different amounts. The basic reactions ofisocyanate with different reagents are shown inScheme 1. The high reactivity of isocyanate groupstoward nucleophilic reagents is mainly due to thepronounced positive character of the C atom in thecumulative double bond sequence consisting ofnitrogen, carbon and oxygen, especially in aromaticsystems. The electronegativity of the oxygen andnitrogen imparts a large electrophilic character tothe carbon in the isocyanate group. The commonreactions of isocyanates can be divided into twomain classes: (1) the reaction of isocyanates withcompounds containing reactive hydrogen to giveaddition products, and (2) the polymerization ofisocyanates, i.e., self-addition reaction. Isocyanatesreact with hydroxyl compounds to give urethanes(a) and with amines to give ureas (b). For primaryand secondary alcohols, the uncatalysed reactionproceeds readily at 50–100 1C, tertiary alcohols andphenols react more slowly. Typical primary andsecondary aliphatic amines and primary aromaticamines react rapidly with isocyanate at 0–25 1C toform urea functional substances. Similarly, waterreacts with a diisocyanate and initially forms of anunstable carbamic acid, which decomposes andproduces an amine (c). Amine is a nucleophilicreagent and further reacts with an isocyanatefunction to produces urea linkage (d). The avail-ability of a lone pair of electrons on the nitrogenatom of urea group makes them nucleophiliccenters, which upon reaction and fruitful collisionwith one molecule of isocyanate produces biuret (e).Similarly, isocyanates react with urethanes andproduce allophanates (f).
Different secondary reactions shown in Scheme 1occur to a lesser extent than the primary reactions.Reactions leading to the formation of allophanatesand biurets are influenced by the reaction condi-tion such as temperature, humidity level and thetype of isocyanate used. The self-condensation ofisocyanate results in uretidione rings (dimer-, g),isocyanurate (trimer-, h) or carbodiimide (j).The formation of carbodiimides is not usually
ARTICLE IN PRESS
R N C O
R' OH
R
HN O
R'
O
R' NH2
R
R
R
HN H
NR'
O
H2O
NH2
N N
N
O
OO
R R
R
N N
O
O
RR
dimer
isocyan
allophanate
urate
urea
urethane
R NCO
HN
HN
R
O
NH RN
OR
O NH
R
biuret
R NCO
R
HN
OR'
O
R
NHC
N
O
R
O
O R'
R1
O
HO
R
HN
CR1
O
de
fc
ji
b
a
g
h
N
RNCO
C N
carbodiimides
R' R
R NCO2
Scheme 1. Basic reactions of isocyanate with different reactants [178].
considered a polymerization reaction, but it couldbe classified as a condensation polymerizationbetween isocyanate molecules with elimination ofCO2. This is due to degradation of isocyanatestaking place at high temperatures [3]. Whenisocyanate reacts with carboxylic acids, the mixedanhydrides break down and form amide groups (i).The trimer isocyanurate rings, unlike uretidionerings, are exceptionally stable. The high reactivity ofisocyanates may cause detrimental secondary reac-tions and uncontrolled condensations leading to theformation of unworkable crosslinked materials thatare difficult to process. Therefore, blocking ofisocyanate capped material or monomer may some-times helps for improving the stability [4]. Theblocked isocyanate can be converted to the activeisocyanate form when required. More recently,commercial availability of blocked isocyanates hasincreased greatly. In particular, these reagents aresuitable for light-stable two-component and single-package blocked adduct urethane coatings in whichhigh temperatures (4100 1C) are used to regenerate
the isocyanate and the blocking agent. The regen-erated isocyanates react with hydroxyl or aminefunctionalized co-reactants to form thermally stableurethane or urea bonds, respectively [5–7]. Blockedisocyanates used in the literature were phenol,oxime [5], caprolactam [8], imidazoline [9], tetra-hydropyrimidine, imidazole [10], pyrazole [11], etc.In order to avoid the release of volatile isocyanateblocking agents, a self-blocked concept has alsoapplied [12].
1.3. Isocyanates
The polyfunctional isocyanate used to preparePU coatings can be aromatic, aliphatic, cycloali-phatic or polycyclic in structure. The commonlyused isocyanates in the manufacture of PUs areTDI, MDI, 4,40-dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate(H12MDI), xylene diisocyanate (XDI), tetramethyl-xylylene diisocyanate (TMXDI), hydrogenatedxylene diisocyanate (HXDI), naphthalene 1,5-diiso-cyanate (NDI), p-phenylene diisocyanate (PPDI),
3,30-dimethyldiphenyl-4, 40-diisocyanate (DDDI),hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), 2,2,4-trimethyl-hexamethylene diisocyanate (TMDI), isophoronediisocyanate (IPDI), norbornane diisocyanate(NDI), 4,40-dibenzyl diisocyanate (DBDI), etc.Aromatic isocyanates have high reactivity thanaliphatic or cycloaliphatic diisocyanates. Differentdiisocyanates contribute to the PU properties indifferent ways. For example, aromatic diisocyanatesgive more rigid PUs than do aliphatic ones, but theiroxidative and ultraviolet stabilities are lower [13].Triisocyanates used for synthesis of PU coatingswill be addressed later.
1.4. Diols/polyols
The polyol component of the PUs can be apolyfunctional polyether (e.g., polyethylene glycol,polypropylene glycol, PTMG or polycaprolactonediol), polyester polyol (PEPO), acrylic polyol(ACPO), polycarbonate polyol, castor oil or amixture of these. A wide variety of branched orcrosslinked polymers can be formed since thefunctionality of the hydroxyl-containing reactantor isocyanate can be adjusted. The simplest polyolsare glycols, such as ethylene glycol, 1,4-butane diol(BDO) and 1,6-hexane diol. The low molecularweight reactants result in hard and stiff polymersbecause of a high concentration of urethane groups.On the other hand, the use of high molecular weightpolyols as the main reactants produces polymerchains with fewer urethane groups and more flexiblealkyl chains. Long-chain polyols with low function-ality (1.8–3.0) give soft, elastomeric PU while short-
HO R OH
HOOC R COOH HO R1 OH H
+
n
a
+
(excess)
b
O
ORO
O
O
OH
+
hydroxyethyl acrylate alkyl acrylate
c
diacid diol
starter ethylene oxide
Scheme 2. Synthetic methods for the preparatio
chain polyols of high functionality (greater than 3)give more rigid, crosslinked product.
Polyether polyols are produced by the addition ofeither ethylene oxide or propylene oxide to apolyhydroxy ‘starter’ molecule in the presence of acatalyst (Scheme 2a). Typical starter moleculesinclude glycerol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycoland trimethylolpropane. PEPOs are produced bythe condensation reaction of polyfunctional car-boxylic acids or anhydrides with polyfunctionalalcohols (Scheme 2b). ACPOs are produced by freeradical polymerization of hydroxyethyl acrylate(HEA)/methacrylate with other acrylic precursors[14] (Scheme 2c). Depending on the field ofapplication, PEPO, ACPO or polyether polyolshave generally been chosen. In commercial applica-tions, it is common to find polyesters prepared froma mixture of two or more diacids reacted with twoor more glycols, which gives ample scope for a rangeof very complex products [15,16]. Though PEPO-and ACPO-based PUs are vulnerable to the gradualhydrolysis of the ester group but they are sufficientlystable against natural weathering. The hydrolysistakes place at the ester groups, which reverts to thecarboxylic acid and alcohol. Additionally, the in situ
formation of carboxylic acid catalyzes further esterhydrolysis, thus accounting for an autocatalyticeffect [17] and therefore a significant reduction ofaverage molar mass and, consequently, deteriora-tion of mechanical properties occur on prolongexposure to humid atmosphere. To slow down thehydrolysis of polyester groups, polycarboimides canbe added to poly(ester urethanes) that act as acidscavengers and suppress the autocatalytic effect
HO
O
R
OH
O R1 O 1 O H
O
R R
O
O
n
n
COOR COOCH2CH2OH
n
acrylic polyol (ACPO)
polyester polyol (PEPO)
polyether polyol
n of polyether polyol, PEPO and ACPO.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
R NCO + R1 OH + M2+
R N C O
H O M2+
R1
R N C O
H O M2+
R1
RHN C
OR1
O M2+
RHN C
OR1
O + M2+
RNCO + R3N RN C O
NR3+
RN
NR3+
C O
NR3+
R1 OH
RN C O
NR3+
HOR1
RHN C O
NR3+
OR1
RNHCOR1 + R3N
+
d
c
b
a
RN
C O
Scheme 3. Reaction mechanism for the NCO/OH reaction due to: (a) and (b) organometallic catalysis [23], and (c) and (d) tertiary amine
[17,18]. PU coatings derived from PEPO haveexcellent heat stability, adhesive properties and oilresistance. Additionally, the lower manufacturingcost has made widespread application of polyester-type PU coatings.
1.5. Catalysts
Catalysts are added to allow the reaction to takeplace at a rapid rate, and at lower temperatures. Forthe reaction of an isocyanate with an alcohol, manyeffective urethane catalysts are available. Mostoften used catalysts are tertiary amines [19],especially 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2] octane (DABCO),triethyl amine (TEA), and organo tin compounds[20], especially dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL), stan-nous octoate and THORCAT. Tetravalent tincompounds of the type RnSnX(4�n) with R being ahydrocarbon group (alkyl, aryl, cycloalkyl, etc.) andX being a halogen atom or a carboxylate group(acetate, laurate, etc.) have shown catalytic effect inurethane reaction [21]. The catalytic effect of
organometallic compounds is due to their complexforming ability with both isocyanate and hydroxylgroups [22,23]. The mechanism proposed by Britainand Gemeinhardt [24] is shown in Scheme 3. Theinteration of metal cation with isocyanate, alcoholmolecule results an intermediate complex (Scheme3a), which may then readily rearrange to yield theurethane product (Scheme 3b). Lenz [25] suggestedthat the catalysis mechanism of tertiary amines(NR3) for urethane reaction involve complexationof the amine and isocyanate groups (Scheme 3c)followed by reaction of the complex with alcohol toform urethane product (Scheme 3d) [26]. Themercury catalyst THORCAT, however, is lessefficient than either catalyst, perhaps due to ahigher stability constant for the latter compound.Furthermore, mercury salt catalysts are thought topossess delayed action properties [27], which mayalso account for their reduced performance com-pared with other metal compounds [28]. Cyclicphosphine oxide catalyzes carbodiimide formation[3]. In the absence of a strong catalyst, allophanate
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Table 1
Different types of coatings by ASTM classification
and biurets formation do not take place foraliphatic isocyanates.
1.6. PU coating classification
ASTM has grouped six different PU coating typesin the ASTM D16 Standard [29]. Table 1 sum-marizes the characteristics of six ASTM PU coatingtypes. Most high solids and solventless PU coatingsfor high performance application and corrosionprotection are designed using the plural componentformat of the ASTM D16-type V.
1.7. Thermoplastic PU coatings
Thermoplastic PU may be described as the linearstructural block copolymer of (SH)n type, where S issoft and H is hard segment (HS). Due to the widevariety of properties between S and H segment,phase separation may be observed in the finalmaterial. Phase separation occurs due to theintrinsic incompatibility or thermodynamic immis-cibility between the hard and soft segments (SSs).The HSs, composed of polar materials, can formcarbonyl to amino hydrogen bonds and thus tend tocluster or aggregate into ordered hard domains [30],whereas SSs form amorphous domains. The HS actsas filler particle as well as crosslinker to restrain themotion of SS chains. Such a structure was firstproposed by Cooper and Tobolsky in 1966 [31]. Theearly work of Schollenberger [32] as well as Cooper
and Tobolsky [31] established that segmented PUsconsist of high glass transition temperature (Tg) orhigh melting temperature (Tm) HS microphaseseparated from relatively low Tg SS. The degree towhich the hard and SSs phase separate, plays a vitalrole in determining the solid-state properties ofthese multi-block coatings.
Properties of thermoplastic PU coatings dependupon several factors such as the composition of softand HSs, lengths of soft and HSs and the sequenceof length distribution, chemical nature of the unitscomposing the polymer, anomalous linkages(branching, crosslinking), molecular weight andthe morphology in the solid state. At roomtemperature, soft macroglycol segments are abovetheir Tg and have easy segmental rotations, whichtherefore impart the material its rubber-like beha-vior or elastomeric properties. On the other hand,hard domains are below their glassy or melttransition temperature and are thought to governthe hysteresis, permanent deformation, high mod-ulus, and tensile strength and provide dimensionalstability [33]. Compositional variables and proces-sing conditions such as structure of soft and HSs[34], symmetry of diisocyanate, type of CE (diol ordiamine) [35,36], number of carbons in linear lowmolecular weight CE [36], the type (polyester orpolyether) and chain lengths of SSs [36–39], crystal-lizability of either segment [40], thermal history ofthe PUs [38,41,42] and the method of synthesis [34]are known to affect the degree of phase segregation,
phase mixing, HS domain organization, and sub-sequent PU coating properties.
1.7.1. Effects of SS
The chemical composition and molecular weightdistribution (MWD) of the incorporated soft blockinfluence the macroscopic properties of the resultingcoatings. For example, Yoo et al. [43] claimed thatthe deformation and thermal properties of the PUswere strongly affected by the molecular weight ofSS. Additionally, varying the chemical structure ofSS changes its solubility parameter and hence thecompatibility between soft and HSs in PU coatings.Investigations by Van Bogart et al. [44] andHartmann et al. [45] revealed that increasing theSS molar mass at a fixed HS length gave rise to anincreased tendency for the HS domains to beisolated in the SS matrix. A similar conclusion wasreached in PU based on MDI and polycaprolactoneusing various instrumental techniques [46]. Thisphenomenon resulted in a higher degree of phaseseparation between hard and soft blocks, whichproduced a lower Tg value. In addition, increasingSS prepolymer molar mass at constant functionality(i.e., increasing the molar mass per functional groupor equivalent weight, En) result [47–50] in a higherdegree of phase separation again, owing to in-creased thermodynamic incompatibility betweenthe two copolymer segments, resulting from thehigher Flory–Huggins interaction parameter (w) [51]and/or the higher crystallizability [39]. Stanfordet al. [52] showed that increasing SS functionalitysignificantly increases the strength of PU andreduces the overall degree of phase separationdeveloped in these materials due to increaseddomain boundary mixing.
1.7.2. Effects of HS
HS structure, length and distribution are veryimportant parameters and largely affect morphol-ogy, thermal behavior as well as performance ofsegmented PU coatings [53–55]. Wang and Cooper[39] observed that the mechanical properties ofpolyether PUs depend primarily on the HS content.The presence of three-dimensional hydrogen bond-ing within hard domains leads to usually stronghard domain cohesion. On increasing the HScontent, a morphological change occurs frominterconnecting to isolated hard domains. The effectof HS content on the phase separation in PU basedon MDI was studied by measuring the Tg of the SS[56]. The SS Tg was influenced by the restricted
movement imposed at the HS junctions and atphase boundaries, where the hard domain acts as afiller particle [57]. Bengston et al. [58] explained thevariation in mechanical properties with increasingthe HS content as due to morphology change.Models containing MDI/BDO repeating units havebeen described and investigated; and these studiespointed out that the melting of model compoundsincreases with the number of MDI units, and anextrapolated value for homopolymer, accountingfor the chain end defects, was also achieved[34,59–64]. Tonelli et al. [65] used the modelcompounds R-(MDI–HQE)p�1–MDI–R0 [wherep ¼ 1, 2, 3; R, R0 is ethanol and/or 2-phenoxyetha-nol; and HQE is bis(2-hydroxyethyl) ether] andshown that the melting point increases withincreasing the oligomer length and quickly reachesan asymptotic values. They also calculated thelimiting value of melting points for infinite mole-cular weight calculated by group contribution [66].
1.7.3. Type, position and structure of isocyanate
groups
The type, position and structure of isocyanategroup affect the reactivity with nucleophile and themacromolecular properties of the derived PU coat-ings [67]. The reactivity of primary and secondaryisocyanate groups in IPDI are different due tostereoelectronic configuration and their reactivitydepends on the reaction environment such as typeand nature of catalyst, solvent, etc. Similarly, 2,4and 2,6 TDI isomers differ markedly with respect totheir structure as well as reactivity [68]. The 2,6isomer is symmetric (Scheme 4b) as compared withthe 2,4 isomer (Scheme 4a) and is therefore expectedto form HSs with better packing characteristics.Again, the reactivity of the ortho position in the 2,4isomer is approximately 12% of the reactivity of theisocyanate group in the para position because of thesteric hindrance caused by the methyl group.However, when the reaction temperature ap-proaches 100 1C, steric hindrance effects are over-come, and both positions react at nearly the samerate. In comparison, the isocyanate groups on the2,6 isomer have equal reactivities when both groupsare unreacted. However, after one of the isocyanategroups reacts, the reactivity of the second groupdrops by a factor of about 3 [69,70].
Sung and Schneider [71] reported that thestrength of hydrogen bonds in PUs prepared from2,6 TDI exceed those in 2,4 TDI-based PUs.Nierzwicki and Walczynski [72] investigated
PTMG/BDO-based PU elastomers synthesizedfrom different amount of 2,4 and 2,6 TDI isomersand showed that increasing content of the 2,6 TDIisomer resulted in a systematic increase in tensilestrength, modulus and microphase separation. Itwas suggested that the symmetric nature of the 2,6TDI isomer enhanced the stiffness of the harddomains. Barbeau et al. [73] observed stronghard–hard interurethane associations in 2,6-TDI-based prepolymers; these led to microphase segre-gation between polyether chains and urethanegroups. Different studies [74,75] showed that theMDI-based TPUs in contrast to TDI-based materi-als possess a more perfect domain organization dueto long-range order and show a higher extent ofsegregation between soft and HSs. Generally sym-metric isocyanates form crystallizing HSs with goodpacking ability, producing higher strength materi-als. However, from a kinetic point of view, phaseseparation becomes more complete with aliphaticHSs because of increased mobility. Rogulska et al.[76] reported that the PUs prepared from HDI hadhigher ability to crystallize than the MDI-basedPURs.
The structure of MDI and DBDI (Scheme 4c & d)differ only in the number of the methylene (CH2)groups situated between the two aromatic ringsbearing the isocyanate (NCO) groups in the para
position. PUs prepared from DBDI (i.e., evennumber of CH2 groups situated between thearomatic rings) is considerably higher melting than
MDI-based PUs (i.e., odd-number of CH2 groupssituated between the aromatic rings) [77]. The MDImolecule introduces the rigid –Ph–CH2–Ph– moietyin the elastomeric PU HSs. In contrast when usingDBDI, the specific –Ph–CH2–CH2–Ph– moietyintroduces a variable geometry into the HSs dueto the possibility of internal rotation of thisisocyanate around the –CH2–CH2– ethylene bridge.This leads to the appearance of both syn and anti
rotational conformations, of which the anti con-formation is most stable. Therefore, PUs pre-pared from DBDI can adopt compact packing dueto the anti conformation of DBDI, which signifi-cantly enhance ordering and HS–HS hydrogenbonding [77].
1.7.4. Effect of CE
The effect of different CEs on morphology andproperties of PUs were reported by various authors[60,78,79]. The chain length, molecular volume,functionality of the CE and its conformation caninfluence HS packing and crystallinity in the harddomains [80–82]. Blackwell and Nagarajan [83] andBlackwell et al. [60,84] suggested that for chain-extended PUs, CEs containing an even number ofcarbons produced polymers with a more phaseseparated structure than those containing an oddnumbers of carbons. Auten and Petrovic [85]reported the effect of unsaturation in the CE onthe structure and properties of derived PUs. Theyutilized CEs of the BDO series with increasing bond
order at the 2,3 carbons such as BDO, cis-2-butene-1,4-diol (BED) and 2-butyne-1,4-diol (BYD) andshowed that increasing bond order progressivelylimit backbone chain flexibility. Consequently, HSsize may increase, but hydrogen bonding groupsmay be forced into positions that do not alloweffective interchain bonding, resulting in poorphysicochemical properties. In addition, the relativeacidity of the terminal alcoholic protons is expectedto increase with increasing CE bond order becauseelectron density at the oxygen atoms would beprogressively shifted toward the p bonds. As theacidity of the CE O–H group increases, the reactionrates during polymer synthesis, polymer molecularweight, and thermal stability of the urethane groupsformed could all be adversely affected.
It has also been shown that the physicochemicalproperties of thermoplastic elastomers are increasedusing diols with higher molecular weight as CEs[86]. While working with hydroxyl-terminatedpolybutadiene (HTPB)-based PUs, Zawadski andAkcelrud [87] observed that the mechanical proper-ties increased with decreasing number of carbonatoms in the CE and their findings disagrees withprevious results, which showed a zigzag pattern [88],or an increase in property with diol chain length[89]. Yen et al. [90] observed a higher tensilestrength for diamine chain extended PUs incomparison to BDO chain extended PUs. They[90] also observed that ethylenediamine chainextended PU showed better tensile strength thandiethyltriamine chain-extended PU. Earlier studies[35,36,39,91] compared urea with urethane by theirinfluence on polymer properties and found that anincrease in the urea group content would enhancethe extent of hydrogen bonding between HSs.
1.8. Hydrogen bonding effect
Hydrogen bonding in PUs plays a vital role indetermining their macroscopic properties. The highelectronegativity of nitrogen atom in the urethaneor urea moiety withdraws N–H bonded electronsand develops partial positive charge on the hydro-gen, which thereby forms hydrogen bonding withthe neighboring oxygen atom. In all cases, thehydrogen atom of the N–H group in the urethane orurea linkages is the donor proton, while theacceptor group can be the carbonyl of the imidegroups, urethane’s CQO, urea’s CQO or theoxygen atom of the ester or ether linkage whenpolyester or a polyether are present as the SS.
The hydrogen bonding interaction produces physi-cal crosslinks, and thereby reinforces the PU matrix;increase strength and stiffness [92–94].
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR)is well established as an analytical technique forfunctional group analysis and to study the hydrogenbonding and phase separation behavior in PUs.Pimentel and Sederholm [95] suggested a linearrelationship between the length of the hydrogenbond (R) and the frequency shift (Dn) of the N–Habsorption band caused by hydrogen bonding, asexpressed in
R ¼ 3:21� Dn=ð0:548� 103Þ. (1)
The shorter the hydrogen bonding, the stronger thebonding.
In most cases, the degree of PU microphaseseparation as observed from FTIR study has beenfound to be incomplete. That is, the microphase isnot pure due to the intersegmental mixing. Mixingwithin the soft microphase is reflected by anelevation in its Tg compared to the pure componentvalue. The more SS domains are contaminated withthe dissolved HS of high glass transition tempera-ture, the higher the SS Tg. The degree of HS–SSmixing depends on HS length, SS length, overall HScontent and the affinity of one segment toward theother [96].
1.9. Thermoset PU coatings
The major drawbacks of thermoplastic PU coat-ings are their poor resistance towards mechanicalstrains and high temperatures deformation and/ordegradation. Generally, their acceptable mechanicalproperties vanish above 80 1C and thermal degrada-tion takes place above 200 1C [97]. The presence ofcrosslinks provides thermoset coatings with en-hanced tensile strength, abrasion and mar resistanceas well as acid, alkali, and solvent resistance, whichis lacking in thermoplastic PU coatings. Theseperformance criteria are essential for most industrialcoatings. Therefore, with the aim to further increasefinal performances and working temperature range,the introduction of chemical crosslinker in the PUstructure was also evaluated. Normal crosslinkingin the urethane elastomer is reported to occurby reaction of terminal isocyanate groups withurethane groups to form allophanate linkage.Chemical crosslinking was also obtained and con-trolled by substitution of a trifunctional hydroxylcompound in place of the normal glycol CE.
Increasing the functionality of the polyether orpolyester SS also increase the crosslinking concen-tration. Coatings may contain triols or higher-functional polyols [98–103], isocyanates with func-tionalities greater than two [104,105], NCO/OHratios greater than one [101–103,106] or combina-tions thereof [101–103]. Peroxides and tri-functionalCEs have also been utilized to chemically modifythe hard domain cohesiveness using chemical cross-links [98]. The introduction of crosslinker into theHS, SS or CE would reduce the mobility of HSs andcause a steric hindrance that reduces the ability ofHSs to form hydrogen bonding [99,107]. Cross-linked PUs have shown great potential in thecoatings sector due to their high Tg’s, ability toform high quality films, good solvent resistance andease of synthesis and processing. In general, highercrosslinking promotes phase mixing [108–111]. Forexample, Thomas et al. [108] altered the level ofcrosslinking by changing the functionality of thepolyol (2.56–2.76) by adjusting the mix of themono-functional polyether with multifunctionalcomponents. They suggested that increasing thepolyol functionality increased the phase mixing.Therefore, in order to modify the properties of asegmented PU for a high performance coatingsapplication, a calculated amount of crosslinker isneeded. The presence of crosslinks by deliberateaddition of a crosslinker or in situ generation due tothe side product formation seriously hampers thephase separation and produces a polymer whichshows both the phase-mixed and phase-separatedbehavior, depending on the concentration of cross-linker.
1.9.1. High solid coatings
Since the 1980s, the main challenge for solvent-borne coatings was to improve the solid content.One way to achieve this objective is to reduce thequantity of organic solvents so as to increase solidsubstances to obtain high solid coatings. Theapproach adapted so far has been to lower theviscosity of the binder, add reactive diluents orlower the viscosity of the polyisocyanate cross-linking agent [112]. Hydroxy-terminated polyesterand hydroxy-functional acrylic resins are the mostcommon polyols. They are crosslinked through theisocyanate group in 2K high solid coatings. Gen-erally, polyesters can achieve higher solids, greatersolvent resistance and better adhesion to metalsthan acrylic resins [113,114]. Approaches toobtain low VOC for traditional polyesters in the
polyester–urethane 2K coatings include: (1) con-trolling molecular weight and MWD, (2) selectingthe number of functional groups, (3) using hydrogenbond acceptor solvents, and (4) reducing the ratio ofaromatic/aliphatic diacids [115,116].
Some of the industrially important low viscouspolyisocyanate crosslinker for making themosethigh solid PU coatings are shown in Scheme 5.Ludewig et al. [117] reported the preparation of lowviscosity allophanates by reacting compounds con-taining urethane groups with monoisocyanates.Most of the aliphatic polyisocyanates are madeeither from HDI or IPDI by catalytic routesyielding uretdiones (isocyanate dimers), isocyanu-rates (isocyanate trimers), and iminooxadiazine-diones (asym. isocyanate trimers) [118,119].Richter et al. [120] used trialkylphosphines andpolyfluorides as dimerization and trimerizationcatalysts, respectively.
1.9.2. Acetoacetylation and crosslinking with
acetoacetate groups
In recent years, several studies have been carriedout on the acetoacetylation of hydroxyl groupcontaining polymers. Partial replacement of thehydroxyl groups in polyols (say polyester or acrylicpolyols) with the less polar acetoacetate groupsleads to an increase in solid content at theapplication viscosity as well as increase in adhesiondue to chelate effect. Acetoacetylated or b-ketoe-ster-incorporated polymers offer versatile crosslink-ing mechanism. This versatility results from thepresence of two sites available for crosslinkingreactions. These sites are the active methylenegroup and the ketone carbonyl group. b-ketoestergroups are amphoteric and can participate in avariety of chemical transformations, which might beused to modify, or crosslink polymers. There areseveral routes by which acetoacetylated materialscan be prepared of which transesterification route ispreferred for the coating application [121–124].Crosslinking reaction of the active methylene groupin acetoacetylated polyols with diisocyanate(Scheme 6) produces additional crosslink withsuperior properties and weathering stability[125–128].
1.9.3. Moisture-cured polyurethanes (MCPUs)
MCPUs contains NCO-terminated PU prepoly-mer [129], which on cure with atmospheric moistureproduce highly crosslinked networks. The curereaction (Scheme 7) advances with time and
ARTICLE IN PRESS
OCN
nNCO NCO
Polymeric-MDI
NNH
O O
NH
NCO
NCOOCN
HDI-biuretDesmodur N
N
N
N
O
OO
(CH2)6
(CH2)6(H2C)6
NCO
NCOOCN
HDI-trimer(isocyanurate)
slow reacting and pot life is more
N
N
O
N
OO
(CH2)6
(H2C)6
NCO
OCN
Asymetric-trimer
(CH2)6 NCO
O
P
S
O O NCO
NCO
OCN
Desmodur - RFE
Desmodur N3300 A
Desmodur N3200 is low viscosity
version of Desmodur N 100
Scheme 5. Industrially important low viscous polyisocyanate crosslinker.
O
O O
O
O O
O
O O+
HOOH
keto form
O
O OH
O
OH O
enol form
active methylene group
O
O OH
O
O OH
N N C OCO
..
..
..
..O
O O..
..
..
..
O NH
O
OO
OHN
keto form
O
O O..
..
..
..
HO NH
O
OO
OHHN
enol form
a
b
Scheme 6. (a) Acetoacetylation reaction of hydroxylated polyols and (b) crosslinking reaction of the active methylene groups in
produces crosslink networks by the diffusion ofmoisture and the nucleophilic attack and generationof primary amine that further react to produce ureabonds. Recently, 2,20-different morpholino-contain-
ing substances such as dimorpholinodiethyl ether(DMDEE) as well as reactive amine catalysts wereused as catalysts to speed up the moisture curereaction [130].
ARTICLE IN PRESS
OCN NCO
NCO
OCN NCO
NCO
NCOOCN
NCO
NCOOCN
NCO
Curing reaction
NH
NH
HN
NH
NH
HN
HN
HN
NH
HNHN
NH
O O
O
O
NH
O
HN
O
HN
NH
O
O
HO
H
..
..
Scheme 7. The moisture curing reaction and film formation of NCO-terminated PU prepolymer [135, 138].
The major drawback of MCPU coatings is theformation of side products on storage and, if thesereactions are significant, both pot stability and shelflife are expected to be dramatically affected. Thepresence of side products, for example allophanateand isocyanurate add branch points, increases theviscosity of the NCO-capped prepolymer andchanges the onset of gelation during cure and therebylower the storage stability of the product. Thepresence of additional HS material due to biuretand allophanate changes the hard domain volumefraction, and hence the interconnectivity of the HSs,to alter the thermal properties as well as adhesivebehavior [131–138]. The advantages of MCPU coat-ings are their superior hardness, strength, stiffnessand flexibility. Additionally, surface moisture com-pletes the chemical reaction in MCPUs, and thesematerials adhere well to visibly damp surfaces as theypenetrate into pores and tight crevices wheremoisture is usually present, to form strong chemicalbonds. Since moisture is consumed in the process, therisk of blisters or a weak boundary layer caused bywater trapped under the coating is greatly reduced.
A moisture scavenger is used to increase thestability of NCO-capped PU prepolymer. Mono-meric monoisocyanates such as p-toluene sulfonylisocyanate, a Zoldine MS Plus product based onoxazalidone, an Incozol 2-based oxazolane, anorthoformate-based additive known as OF, tri-methyl orthoformate (TMOF), trimethyl orthoace-tate (TMOC) and molecular sieves are commerciallyavailable moisture scavengers [139].
1.9.4. Polyurethane imide
Thermoplastic PU is well known to exhibit poorheat resistance that largely limits its use asengineering material. The thermal stability of PUdepends on the chemical structure of its backbone,which consists of various HSs and SSs. Forexample, PUs produced from monomers with
different diisocyanate structures present differentthermal stabilities. There have been extensiveresearch efforts on improving the thermal stabilityof PU, which led to great progress on its processingand application. A very effective way to improve thethermal stability of PUs is through chemicalmodification of their structures or introduction ofchemical crosslinks. Chemical crosslinking producesa three-dimensional network structure and redu-ces macromolecular degradation to a negligibleamount, even upto 300 1C. The other way ofimproving thermal stability or thermomechanicalproperties is to incorporate heterocyclic structures,such an imide, into the PU backbone by a one-shottechnique or via a sequential method. Reaction ofthe isocyanate-capped PU prepolymer with an aciddianhydride is the method most often used tointroduce an imide function into the PU backbone(Scheme 8) [97,140–143]. Pyromellitic dianhydride(PMDA), 3,30,4,40-benzophenone tetracarboxylicdianhydride (BTDA), 3,30,4,40-sulphonyldiphthalicanhydride (DSDA) are widely used commerciallyavailable acid dianhydrides. A number of othermethods have also been utilized:
1.
An acid dianhyhydride was reacted with ami-noethonal to give a hydroxyl-terminated imidemonomer, which was then reacted with isocya-nate-terminated PU prepolymer.
2.
Reaction of isocyanate-terminated PU prepoly-mer with aromatic diamines and dianhydride toprepare PU-containing imide groups in thebackbone.
3.
Intermolecular Diels–Alder reaction of 4-methyl-1,3-phenylenebis (2-furanylcarbamate) with var-ious bismaleimides is also reported to givePU-imides [144,145].
4.
Additional methods include the use of polyamideacid [146], diimide-dinaphthols [147], and imidi-zation of blocked PU prepolymer [148,149].
ARTICLE IN PRESS
O
O
O
C
N
O
N
C
O
O
O
O
N
O
O
O
O
OC
N
ON
O
O
O
O
N
O
O
NCOOCN + CO2PUPU
PU
PU
PU
PUNCO
NCO
NCO
OCN
Scheme 8. PU-imide formation by the reaction of isocyanate-terminated PU prepolymer with PMDA.
be used in an aggressive environment, where highcuring speed is required (e.g., an oil pipeline). Thebasic chemistry of polyurea coatings is the reactionof amine-functional reactants with an isocyanate-functional compound to produce a polymer withurea links. In many ways, a polyurea is very similarto a two-component PU. The usual procedure formanufacturing two-component PU coating is tohave a polyol as the A side of a formulation. The Bside, sometimes called the hardener or curing agent,is a diisocyanate or oligomeric isocyanate. On theother hand for polyurea coatings, the A side is anoligomerised amine or blend and B side is anisocyanate oligomer(s) or quasi-prepolymer. Poly-urea coatings are manufactured by reacting a largeexcess of isocyanate capped oligomer with an amineor amine blend, and more usually with an amine-capped oligomer. The disadvantage of polyureacoatings is their high reactivity, and therefore ashort pot life [150–152]. In order to increase the potlife of polyurea coatings, Wicks and Yeske [153,154]developed a methodology to slow down or reducethe reactivity and remove the need for plural sprayequipment. It requires making the amines secondaryrather than primary, sterically hindering them andgenerally making the molecule more bulky, thusaltering the kinetics [155]. This can be achieved bymaking a polyaspartic ester by means of theMichael addition reaction. The reaction is shown
schematically in Scheme 9(a). The hindered aminespecies has a higher viscosity than the amine. Oneway to reduce the viscosity is to utilize a low-viscosity oxazolidine. Oxazolidines are useful spe-cies that may be used in both one and two-component PUs as moisture scavengers, reactivediluents and latent hardeners. Hydroxyethyl oxazo-lidine shown in Scheme 9(b) can be converted to aurethane bis-oxazolidine (high viscous) or a carbo-nate-bridged low viscous product [156].
1.9.6. Glycidyl carbamate resin in PU coatings
Resins containing glycidyl carbamate group havethe potential to provide PU performance combinedwith epoxide reactivity. The synthesis and proper-ties of difunctional glycidyl carbamates-based PUcoatings have been reported [157–161]. Glycidylcarbamate functional oligomers such as biuretglycidyl carbamate (BGC), isocyanurate glycidylcarbamate (IGC), hexamethylene glycidyl carba-mate (HGC) were synthesized from different poly-functional isocyanate oligomers and glycidol. Theoligomers were mixed with different amine cross-linkers at varying stoichiometric ratios and cured atdifferent temperatures.
1.9.7. UV-curable PU coatings
UV-curable PU coatings represent a class withno or little VOCs. This technique is based onthe polymerization of an unsaturated resin sys-tem, induced by incident radiation, to obtain a
ARTICLE IN PRESS
NH2
NH2
O
O
O
O NH
NH2
OC4H9
O
O
OC4H9
H
N
HO OH
O
NO
HO
NCH2O
NN O
N
HO
OO
O
H
NO
N
O
O
O
OO O
O
Isophorone diamine
dibutyl maleate
. .
. .
. .
. .
hindered amine
Michael addition product
diethanolamine
isobutyraldehyde
hydroxyethyl oxazolidine
urethane bis-oxazolidine
dimethyl carbonate
K-OB
HDI
ut
carbonate bridged bis-oxazolidine
a
b
(high viscous)
(low viscous)
6
Scheme 9. Preparation of hindered amine and oxazolidine derivative for polyurea coatings [156].
three-dimensional network. During the cure reac-tion, the liquid polymer transforms within fewseconds into a solid having rubbery or glassyproperties at room temperatures. It has been widelyapplied in many industrial fields for manufacturing,decoration, and protection of different materials. Infact, there are many advantages to produce coatingsby UV-curing, such as: (i) low energy requirement;(ii) very fast and efficient polymerization; (iii) cureselectively limited to the irradiated area; and (iv) noenvironmental pollution by VOC. The disadvan-tages are the oxygen inhibition and the needs for aUV source. Molecular oxygen at the coating surfaceis effective at terminating polymerization, whichresults in low molecular weight, tacky films. Anumber of methods e.g., use of oxygen scavenger(e.g., tannin, carbohydrazide, etc.), high radiationintensity or initiator concentration, etc., have beenused in the recent past to overcome the oxygeninhibition effect [162]. Sometimes, the addition of afree amine such as methyl diethanol amine (MDEA)has a beneficial effect on the UV cure process, asthey are able to donate a proton to hydrogenabstracting photoinitiators, such as benzophenone.
The resultant amine free radicals initiate polymer-ization in the UV cure process. In addition, aminescan scavenge atmospheric oxygen at the coatingsurface.
The main components of UV curable formula-tions are an oligomer (e.g., acrylated PU as shownin Scheme 10), a reactive diluent and a photo-initiator [163]. The reactive diluent used not only tocontrol the formulation viscosity, but also tocontrol the cure speed and extent of polymerization,as well as the properties of the cured film. Multi-functional acrylates are the preferred reactivediluents in radiation-cured systems because of theirrapid curing rates and low prices. The nature of theresultant cured films depends not only on theproperties of the components, but also on thephotopolymerization kinetics, i.e., the photopoly-merization rate and final unsaturation conversion.The irradiation flux, temperature, sample thickness,photoinitiator concentration, and reactive diluentcontent for a given resin affect the photopolymer-ization kinetics to a large extent and, therefore,the physical and mechanical properties of thecured films. Cationic photopolymerization provides
ARTICLE IN PRESS
NCOOCN
OHHO
NCOOO C
O
NH
CHN
O
OCN
n
diol/polyol
diisocyanate NCO terminated polymer
NHOO C
O
NCHN
O
HN CC
O
O
O
O
OO
OH
(CH2)2 O C
O
Hn
(H2C)2C
O
O
acrylic terminated PU
(hydroxyethyl acrylate)
Scheme 10. Preparation of acrylic-terminated PU prepolymer for UV cure coatings.
coatings with lower shrinkage, better flexibility,lower VOC and less sensitivity to oxygen [164] thanis usual with free radical photopolymerization.
1.9.8. Waterborne coatings
The increase interest in waterborne coatings isdue to its low VOC content. Waterborne coatingtechnologies require new types of resins for binderdispersions and additives to fulfill high qualityrequirements [165,166]. An aqueous PU dispersion(PUD) is a binary colloidal system in which theparticles of PU are dispersed in continuous waterphase. The particle size tends to be about20–200 nm, and the particles have a high surfaceenergy. This results in a strong driving force for filmformation after water evaporation. Usually, PUpolymers are not soluble in water and the degree ofhydrophilicity is one of the key factors determiningthe particle size distributions in the PUD. The shelflife colloidal stability of PUDs is influenced by theirparticle size distribution. Therefore, a special treat-ment or structural modification is necessary for thepolymer to be dispersible in water. Generally,aqueous PUDs can be prepared by incorporatinghydrophilic groups into the polymer backbone or byadding a surfactant. The former material known asa PU ionomer in which the ionic groups act asinternal emulsifiers. Therefore, waterborne PUionomers consist of PU backbones with a minorityof pendant acid or tertiary nitrogen groups, whichare completely or partially neutralized or quater-nized, respectively, to form salts.
Various processes have been developed for thepreparation of aqueous PUDs. In all of theseprocesses, a medium molecular weight polymer(the prepolymer) is formed by the reaction of
suitable diols or polyols (usually macrodiols suchas polyethers or polyesters) with a molar excess ofdiisocyanates or polyisocyanates in the presence ofan internal emulsifier as first step. The emulsifier is adiol with an ionic group (carboxylate, sulfonate, orquaternary ammonium salt) or a non-ionic group[poly(ethylene oxide)] is usually added to allow thedispersion of the polymer in water. The critical stepin which the various synthetic pathways differ is thedispersion of the prepolymer in water and themolecular weight buildup. The most importantprocesses are the acetone process, pre-polymermixing process, melts dispersion process and keti-mine process [167–172].
Aqueous PUDs are of three types; non-ionic,cationic and anionic depending upon the type ofhydrophilic segments present in the PU backbone.Depending on the type of ionic species, a minimumionic content is required for the formation of astable PU ionomer. The interaction between ionsand their counter ions is responsible for theformation of stable dispersion. The ion-dipoleinteraction between the ionomer and dispersingmedia (e.g., water) results in the formation of asalvation sheath, where the ionomer propertiesdepends on the degree of neutralization and contentof ionic component.
1.9.8.1. Cationic PU. According to Lorenz et al.[173] Lorenz and Hick [174], cationic PU ionomersin water are stabilized because of the formation ofelectric double layer. The SS of cationic PU ishydrophobic and the HS with NHR2
+ is hydro-philic. Therefore, the molecular chains of cationicPU can self-organize to micelles when dispersed inwater, with positively charged hydrophilic groups at
the surface and hydrophobic groups concentrated inthe micelle interior. A electric double layer formsaround the micelles, which undergo Brownianmotion, stabilized against intermicelle aggregationby electrostatic forces. At the same time, there arehydrogen bonds between the hydrophilic groupsand water molecules, and then the particles aresurrounded by a layer of water molecules making asolvation sheath. This phenomena hinder theaggregation of particles [175]. For the preparationof a cationic PUD, 3-dimethylamino-1,2-propane-diol can be used to disperse the medium afterneutralizing with a weak protonic acid in water.
1.9.8.2. Anionic PU. Dimethylol propionic acid(DMPA) is commonly incorporated into PU back-bones because it is very effective for water disper-sion in the subsequent neutralization reaction withtriethylamine (TEA) [176–178]. The carboxylic ionof DMPA in the polymer is hydrophilic and servesas an anionic center as well as internal emulsifier.Carboxylic ions not only stabilizes aqueous PUDs,but may also become the curing site. The carboxylgroups in PUDs provide charges to the surfaces ofPU micelles (particles), thereby causing repulsionbetween PU particles resulting in uniform PUparticle size distribution in the water phase. Sche-matic diagrams of micelles formed by (a) cationicand (b) anionic PU ionomers in water are shown inFig. 1. Because of the hydrophilic properties of thecarboxyl group, these PUs become self-emulsified(or water-reducible) in the water phase. Suchconventional aqueous-based PUs have a disadvan-tage similar to that of a polymer surfactant, in that
+NHR2
NHR2
+
NHR2
+NHR2
+
+NHR2
NHR2
+
NHR2
+NHR2
+
+NHR2
NHR2
+
NHR2
+NHR2
+
NH
R 2
+
NH
R 2
+
NH
R 2
+
a
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of micelles formed by (a) cationic
they exhibit high hydrophilicity after drying into afilm. Therefore, the weight percent of DMPA usedin the prepolymer not only influences the particlesize and stability of the dispersion, but also thehydrophobicity of the coatings. For example, theuse of higher amount of DMPA results in a smalleraverage particle size and high hydrophilicity in thefilm, which reduces the water resistance of thecoating. Therefore an optimum amount of DMPAshould be used for making a high performancecoating.
Improvements in aqueous-based PUs are nor-mally achieved with post-curing reactions or poly-mer hybridization, which enhances the molecularweight, crosslinking density, and performanceproperties. A convenient post-curing reaction ofaqueous-based PUs is mainly based on the carboxylgroups reacting with an aziridinyl curing agentwhen the pH drops below 6.0 or upon air drying[179,180]. The reaction of carboxyl group with amulti-aziridinyl curing agent results in amino esterlinkage formation between polymers [167,180,181].The carboxylic ion containing aqueous PUD and amulti-aziridinyl latent curing agent may be formu-lated as a self-curing PU system. Its self-curingreaction takes place at ambient temperature duringthe drying process or when its pH value droppedbelow 6 [180]. Ethyleneimine, also called aziridine,reacts not only with carboxylic or hydroxyl groupcontaining compounds, but also reacts to form itshomopolymers under an acidic condition at ambi-ent temperature. However, it remains stable in analkaline solution system. During the past years,aziridinyl compounds have been used for several
COO
COO
COOCOO
OOC
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
COO
COO
COOCOO
OOC
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
COO
COO
COOCOO
OOC
+
+
+
+
+
+
++
b
and (b) anionic polyurethane ionomers in water [178].
reported applications in coatings [167,182] becauseof their unique properties. Di- or triaziridinylcompounds are water soluble and readily mix withanionic aqueous-based PUDs in various ratios. Theresultant single-pack dispersion is stable in a tightlysealed container for more than 3 months, withoutany sedimentation [180,181]. A new curing agent,IPDI/uretedione aziridinyl derivative (UAD)(Scheme 11) was prepared by Lai et al. [183].Initially, the authors prepared dimer of IPDI, andlater on the NCO groups of the dimer were reactedwith aziridine. A more discussion on aziridinylcuring agent will be found in Section 4.2.
The ionic content, degree of neutralization[184–188], type of ionic component [184], counterion used [177,184,188], molecular weight of SS[187,189] and the amount of cosolvent [170] usedhave considerable effect on the particle size of PUemulsion for both cationic and anionic PUs.
1.9.9. PU non-aqueous dispersion
Polymerization in a non-aqueous dispersion wasfound to be an effective alternative route for thepreparation of uniform polymeric particles in the1–10 mm size range [190]. Typically, polymerizationin a dispersed medium starts with the monomerspartially or totally soluble in the organic phase, andresults in the formation of an insoluble polymer inthe form of stable colloidal dispersion. Polymermicrospheres with very narrow size distribution canbe prepared in appropriate conditions. The role ofthe steric stabilizer is crucial in this procedure as itnot only provides stability to the resultant particles,but also affects the final particle size and sizedistribution as well as the polymer molar mass.Usually, amphipathic polymers—block or graftcopolymers—are effective stabilizers [191,192].These stabilizers strongly adsorb onto the formingparticle surface by virtue of the insolubility of one oftheir block units (also called the anchor part), andstabilizer desorption from the final material may
cause irreversible changes, such as the loss of thestabilization of the particles. One possibility toavoid this major drawback is to use reactivestabilizers or macromonomers that remain attachedto the final particle. PU particles formed bysuspension polymerization in a non-aqueous med-ium have been reported by Yabuuchi et al. [193].According to their work, PU microspheres in the5–50 mm size range were obtained by condensingoligomeric glycols with diisocyanates or isocyanate-terminated prepolymer in an organic medium, usingpoly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(dimethylsiloxane) blockcopolymer as the steric stabilizer.
1.10. Selection and modification of PU coatings
In modifying the backbone structure of PUcoatings, it is necessary to consider the end use forthe coating and the cost of modification. Thefollowing factors must be considered while selectinga material in a specified environment:
1.
The properties of the modified PU coating suchas hardness, strength, stiffness, thermal stabilityand expansion coefficient.
2.
The resistance of the coating towards mechan-ical, thermal and chemical stress during service.
3.
The compatibility of the coating and thesubstrate over the temperature range of expectedapplication. This includes minimizing thermalstresses (by matching thermal coefficients) andproviding good coating–substrate adhesion.
4.
Ultimately, whether or not a particular coatingwill be used depends on the trade-off between thebenefits to be gained and the additional cost to beincurred. When the application is critical and theconsequences of failure are disastrous, highercosts are justified, particularly when there is noother alternative.
Additionally, for a better protection of thesubstrate, knowledge of the following parametersis of paramount importance: coating applicationmethod, composition, thickness, hardness, coat-ing–substrate adhesion, friction coefficient, wearresistance, Young’s modulus, thermal expansioncoefficient, heat conductivity, density, specific heatof both coating and substrate and information onresidual stresses to assess the overall stress levelexhibited by the coated body [194].
The most robust way to improve the mechanicalproperties of PUs is the chemical bonding of the PUchain with functionalized dendritic polymersthrough crosslinking. Even in small amount of sucha molecular architecture is sufficient for manifoldincrease in tensile strength, with only a reasonableincrease in cost. These types of polymers are amongthe most exciting ones developed in the recent past,and have shown a new dimension in coatingresearch and development. The driving force behindthe coatings R&D research in functionalized den-dritic polymers is the differences in the properties ofbranched structure compared with their linearanalogs. Dendritic polymers exhibit lower viscos-ities, are non-entangled globular structures, andoften have increased solubility in various solventsand good rheological behavior. Their high function-ality provide multiple covalent branching sites forcrosslinking reaction and results in increasing thefilm’s structural integrity, with excellent chemicalresistance, durability and good mechanical proper-ties, while maintaining low VOC in the coatingformulation. For example, the presence of hydroxylor amino functionality at the terminal unit can beused in small proportion to crosslink an NCO-terminated PU prepolymer [195,196]. Dendriticpolymers comprise monodisperse dendrimers andpolydisperse HBPs. The special macromolecularstructures of dendritic polymers, such as, manifoldof end-groups, compact molecular shape, anddecreasing chain entanglement has resulted uniqueand widely different physical and chemical proper-ties compared to the conventional linear counter-parts. The nature, structure and concentration ofthese end-groups have a large influence on theproperties. The possibility to produce specific end-groups or modify the structure of the end-groupscan be used as a tool to adjust or modify theproperties of the polymer with tailored crosslinkdensities and hydrophobicity for specific coatingapplications [197–201]. In recent years, a number ofexcellent reviews [197,202–205] have been publishedthat describe the preparative methods, propertiesand difference between dendrimers and HBPs.Dendrimers are made in sophisticated fashion bythe multiple replication of a sequence of two steps,and therefore are monodisperse, symmetrical,layered macromolecules and perfectly built onto acore molecule with a high degree of branching (DB).Dendrimers consists of three distinct areas: the
polyfunctional central core or focal point, whichrepresents the center of symmetry, various well-defined radial-symmetrical layers of repeating units(also called generations), and end-standing groupsknown terminal groups [206].
Dendrimers can be synthesized according toseveral distinct synthetic approaches such as diver-gent or convergent synthesis using AB2 or AB3
building blocks and multistep, time-consumingprocedures involving protection, coupling anddeprotection cycles resulting in low yields, leadingto difficulties and a tendency for high cost in large-scale preparation [207]. These factors make dendri-mers less attractive for large volume coatingsapplications. On the other hand, HBPs are poly-disperse, not fully reacted at every repeating unit,have lower DB, an irregular structure with amixture of branched and linear repeat units, butpossess many similar properties of dendrimers andcan be produced in large scale at a reasonable cost.The physical nature of HBPs depends on their glasstransition temperature (Tg), e.g., brittle or soft for ahigh or low Tg, respectively, as usual [208,209].
In order to generate such highly branchedstructures, two distinct synthetic strategies havebeen widely employed. The first one is a step-wiseprocess, in which the macromolecules are built-upone layer at a time, either using a convergent ordivergent strategy to generate highly branchedstructures like dendrimers or starburst polymersand the other is the self-condensation of an ABx
type monomer (where xX2), which producesincomplete branching. The one-step synthetic ap-proach of HBPs using ABx type multifunctionalmonomers is the most convenient way to improvecoating properties, since structural perfection is nota strict prerequisite for most coating applications. Adetailed structural investigation of HBPs revealsthree different types of repeating units as illustratedin Scheme 12. The constituents are dendritic units(D) having all the groups reacted, terminal units (T)having the two B-groups unreacted, and linear units(L) having one B group unreacted. The linearsegments are generally described as defects. TheDB in AB2 systems is given by DB ¼ (2D+L)/(2D+L) [210].
2.1. Convergent and divergent synthetic methods
The core first (divergent) or core last (convergent)synthetic strategy of protection, condensationand deprotection cycles of ABn-type monomers
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core core
T
L
D
a b
Scheme 12. Schematic structures of (a) dendrimers, and (b) hyperbranched polymers.
divergent
core chain end
convergent
Scheme 13. Representation of dendrimer growth by the divergent
generates dendritic structures. The divergent meth-odology involves in situ branch-cell construction instepwise, iterative stages around a desired core toproduce mathematically defined core-shell struc-tures with core molecule is allowed to growoutword. On the other hand, the convergent methoduse the inward growth of the periphery of themolecule to afford building blocks (dendrons) thatare subsequently coupled to a branching monomerthrough reaction of a single reactive group locatedat its focal point. Outstanding control over growth,structure and functionality can be produced byconvergent methodology [211]. Scheme 13 illustratesdendrimer growth by both the divergent and theconvergent methodologies.
Dendrigraft polymers are one more class ofdendritic polymers that combines the features ofdendrimers and HBPs, and their synthesis follows ageneration-based growth scheme similar to dendri-mers, but use polymeric chains as building blocks.Since this review is focused on cost-effective eco-friendly methods of improving the performancecharacteristics of PU coatings, and that involves theuse of HBPs with terminal functionality; furtherdiscussion of dendrimers and dendrigrafts is beyondthe scope of interest here, and readers can refer toRefs. [197,212,213] for a detailed discussion ondendritic polymers and Refs. [214,215] for dendri-grafts.
2.2. Synthetic approaches of HBPs
Despite the numerous recent developments in thefield of HBPs, the main challenge lies in the
development of synthetic strategies to preparecost-effective, functionalized HBPs using availablecommercial monomers. The general HBP synthesisinvolves the self-polycondensation of ABn-type
monomers, which have one A and n B functionalgroups, where A group of a monomer may reactwith B group of another monomer, but neither Anor B may react with themselves, so that the HBPwill have B endgroups. In the statistical case, the DBis 50% as calculated, for example, according toHawker et al. [216]. The commercial unavailabilityof most of the ABx-type monomers or synthesis ofthese monomers sometimes requires a multisteporganic methodology that takes longer time havemade difficulties for large scale industrial applica-tions. To meet the challenge, novel alternativeapproaches were developed and are based on thefollowing design considerations:
1.
AB2+Bx, 2. A2 and B3, 3. A2+B2B*, 4. A2+CBn {when a diisocyanate having large
reactivity difference (say, IPDI) between twofunctional groups toward hydroxyl groups, thenthis method should be designated AA*+CBn
[217]},
5. AA*+CB2, 6. AB+CDn.
Most of the HBPs studied were obtained throughpolycondensation of AB2 and Bx monomers, that is,with equal reactivity of B functions. However, thereare an increased interest in A2+B3 systems[218–220] because a number of A2 and B3 mono-mers are commercially available at reasonable cost.Recently, Jikei et al. [219], Emrick et al. [220] andFang et al. [221] and coworkers independentlydeveloped an approach to produce HBPs fromcommercially available A2 and B3 monomers.However, direct polycondensation of A2 and B3
monomers would generally result in gelation. Thecritical conversion of the A functional group forgelation can be calculated to be 0.87 whenequimolar amounts of A2 and B3 monomers arereacted [219]. In the early 1950s, Flory [222] pointedout that the polymerization of ABx monomersproceeds without gelation. He proposed A2+B3
systems without any chemical selectivity betweenthe reaction partners, for synthesizing HBPs [223].For this system, a AB2 molecule would be formed asan intermediate and accumulated in the system ifthe first condensation step of A2 and B3 molecules isfaster than the following propagation steps. Carefulcontrolled reaction condition and monomer con-centration may result in soluble HB polymers from
the condensation of AB2 molecules, but otherwisethe system gels [222,224]. The A2+B2B* orAA*+B2B* approaches (also reported asA2+CB2 approach) have recently been exploredwhere the selectivity and reactivity of one A*function toward a selective B* function wasenhanced. Now one may ask the question: what isthe difference between A2 and AA* monomers? Theanswer definitely comes from the concept ofsymmetry and asymmetry in structures. For exam-ple, diisocyanates like monomeric MDI, having acenter or plane of symmetry (C2V-symmetry) can beconsidered as A2-type monomer. This type ofstructure having no selectivity in reaction with anydiols and the reactivity of both the NCO groups inmonomeric MDI is the same. On the other hand,asymmetric diisocyanate IPDI, which contains oneprimary and a secondary NCO groups with unequalreactivity is a AA*-type monomer. An A2+CBn
approach from a diisocyanate (A2) and a dihydroxyamine monomers (CB2: where C is more reactivethan B) was used as an improved method for thepreparation of HBPs by Gao and Yan [225,226].The reaction produces A(AC)Bn, i.e., an ABn-typeintermediate in situ. Another important exampleincludes the formation of hyperbranched poly(urea-urethane)s, as reported by Bruchmann et al. [217],Bruchmann and Schrepp [227]. For AA*+CBn
approaches, though the method works withoutprotection of groups and opens up the use of aversatile and simple approach toward HBPs, it hassome drawbacks. For example, the reaction of adiisocyanates (AA* type) with alkanolamine (CBn)is sensitive to different reaction conditions andgelation may take place when the concentration ofthe reagents is high in the reaction solution, as wellas when the temperature is raised significantly above60 1C. In order to overcome these demerits, Gaoand Yan [225,226] applied long reaction times(5–10 h at low temperature, and as long as 1440 hfor some aliphatic isocyanates) and Bruchmann andSchrepp [227] kept the starting mixture for about 1 hat �5 1C, and then the temperature was raised andwhen necessary a catalyst was added to speed up thereaction. Abdelrehim et al. [228] worked on thedependence of the polymer properties of hyper-branched poly(urea-urethane) by the AA*+CB2
approach on changes in reaction conditions. Aslightly different approach, starting from twomolecules of diisocyanate (B2) and one moleculeof a triol (A3), the A3+(B2)2 leads to an AB2-typebuilding block, which bears two isocyanate and one
hydroxyl group [217]. The serious limitation forproducing HBPs from isocyanates is its self-reactivity and reactivity towards water to form sideproducts. To overcome these limitations, research-ers used a protection/deprotection methodologyand the choice of protecting group and, conse-quently, the speed of deprotection need to be chosencarefully to minimize side reactions. Side reactionscan be avoided by the use of modified self-cross-linking isocyanates. While the isocyanate groupis blocked with an isocyanate blocking agent, e.g. -a ketoxime, it is possible to deprotect the alco-hol functionalities completely without any riskof a side reaction between isocyanate and water.Upon heating, the isocyanate group is regeneratedand reacts to yield a hyperbranched structure.Scheme 14 shows the structure of different mono-mers for the preparation of HBPs [112,229,230].
2.3. Hyperbranched polyols
A wide range of methodologies for constructingHB polyester polyols from ABx monomers (xX2)have been explored, where A and B are hydroxyland carboxylic acid moieties, respectively. Theroutes involve thermally driven homo-polymeriza-tion or activation of either A or B functionalities.Thermally driven polycondensation of AB2 mono-mers is a common method that uses p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) or an organometallic reagentas a trans-esterification catalyst. It has beenreported that the properties of low VOC-coatingformulations containing HB polyol are superior tolinear polyols [231]. A systematic investigation ofHB polyesters as curing agents has been developedin Sweden [232,233]. Several dendritic/HB polyesterpolyols are commercially available from PerstorpPolyols Inc. Perstorp AB, Sweden, with the tradename ‘Boltorn’, and are easy to synthesize [234]. Forexample, HB aliphatic polyester prepared from 2, 2-bis(methylol) propionic acid and 2-ethyl-2-(hydro-xymethyl) 1,3-propanediol was used as crosslink-ing agent in a resin coating formulation. Ziemeret al. [235] prepared HB polyester from 4,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) valeric acid in an A2B approach(Scheme 15a). Others have proposed the batchcopolymerization of a Bn core molecule with a AB2
monomer as an improved method to control thepolycondensation reaction [198]. Examples of suchan AB2-monomer/Bn-core approach include thepreparation of aliphatic HB polyester synthesizedfrom 2, 2-bis(methylol) propionic acid as A2B
monomer and pentaerythritol [236] (Scheme 15b),triethanol amine (Scheme 15c) and trimethylolpro-pane [237,238] as core molecule. The HB polyesterprepared from 4,4-bis-(40-hydroxyphenyl)pentanoicacid and trimethylolpropane as core molecule wasused by Pavlova et al. [239] for PU coatingspreparation. The commercially available (PerstorpPolyols Inc.) hydroxyl-functional HB polyester ofthe third generation (G3) prepared from 2,2-bis(methylol) propionic acid (A2B) and ethoxylatedpentaerythritol (core) is shown in Scheme 16a. AnA2+B3 approach includes the synthesis of HBaliphatic polyester polyol from adipic acid andglycerol [240]. A number of synthetic routes recentlydeveloped that emerge from the combination of themulti-branching polymerization of glycidol withwell-established epoxide polymerization techniques,leading to unprecedented polymer architectures isshown by Frey and Haag [241] and Sunder et al.[242] and Xinling et al. [243] and Xiaoying et al.[244]. The synthesis of hyperbranched polyglycidol(HPG) involves the cationic ring-opening polymer-ization of glycidol, by glycerol in the presence ofboron trifluoride diethyl etherate catalyst in chloro-form and the reaction was carried out in nitrogenatmosphere at 25 1C for more than 3 h (Scheme 16b).
The disadvantage of HB polyester polyols is theirlimited solubility. In order to make them solubleand processable, chemical modification of thehyperbranched cores by substituting a controlledfraction of the terminal hydroxyl groups withhydrophobic alkyl chains is shown as an effectivemethod for controlling the amphiphilic balance[245]. For example, Ming et al. [246] have replaced50 percent of the available –OH groups of partiallysoluble HB polyester prepared from 2,2-bis(hydrox-ymethyl) propionic acid (AB2 monomer) andpentaerythritol (core molecule) with C7H15COO–groups. The modified product was a viscous liquidat room temperature and completely soluble inorganic solvents like THF, etc.
2.4. Hyperbranched polyamides
Use of hyperbranched polyamides having a largenumber of amine functional groups as crosslinkingagents will result in polymers containing bothurethane and urea groups. It is envisaged that suchcrosslinked polymers will show novel propertiesbecause the crosslinking agent used is in a polymericform [247–249]. Yang et al. [249] reported thepreparation of HB polyamide based on novel AB2
monomer. Nasar et al. [247] prepared hyper-branched polyamides having a low molecularweight and narrow MWD and used them ascrosslinking agent in making crosslinked PUs. Theyshowed that amine-terminated HBP of low mole-cular weight derived from 3,5-bis-(4-aminophenoxy)benzoic acid can be used in additive quantity (0.01equivalent of HBP to 1.0 equivalent of PUprepolymer) to improve the tensile properties ofPU significantly without compromising other prop-erties. However the problem may arise fromthe high reactivity of aromatic hyperbranched
polyamides, which reduces the pot life of thecoating. On the other hand, HB polyethylenimine(PEI) (Scheme 17), an aliphatic and therefore withlow reactivity, is a readily available material thatwas initially developed as an additive for use inpaper production, and has since found use in manyother applications, e.g., as complexation agents,surface coatings, etc. A major drawback for large-scale production of PEI for many high-end applica-tions is the relatively broad MWD and low DB ofsome such products. Some hyperbranched PEIs arecommercially available from BASF AG.
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COOH
CH2OH
CH2OH
HO
OH
OH
HO
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
OH
OH
OH
O
O
O
O
OH
OH
O
OO
O
OH
HOHO
HO
OH
OH
O
O
O
O
HO
HO
HO
HO
OH
BoltonTM H20
pentaerythitol2,2- bis (methylol) propionic acid
p-TSA
N
HO
OH
HO
p-TSA, 140oC
N
O
O
O
O
HO
HO
O
HO
OH
O
HO
OH
HO OH
OH
O
OH
HO
OO
OOO
O
O
OH
O
HO
OHO
OH
O O
HO
OH
4,4-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) valeric acid
185oCDBTDL
A2B approach
six repeating units
COOH
CH2OH
CH2OH
A2B + a core molecule A2B + a core moleculea b c
Scheme 15. Different synthetic approaches for the preparation of hyperbranched polyols [235–238].
As a class of UV-curable oligomers, HB-acrylatedsystems have attracted increasing attention from afundamental viewpoint and for the great variety ofexpected applications. Several groups are workingwith these materials for use as oligomers inUV-curable systems [250–252]. The resin could beUV-cured, and the Tg of the cured films can becorrelated with the terminal group concentration inthe HB acrylate [232]. HB acrylates have lowviscosity compared to conventional polyester acry-lates of similar molecular weight. HB acrylatesexhibit rapid cure rate and lower shrinkage thanconventional polyester acrylates. The cured filmshave excellent physical and mechanical propertiessuch as good adhesion, flexibility, impact strength,hardness, chemical resistance, scratch resistance andthe presence of small amount of low extractableresidual unsaturation. The use of acrylated aliphaticHB polyesters based on 2, 2-bis(methylol) propionicacid in UV-curable application has been descri-bed in several papers [195,232,253–255]. Recently,
Dzunuzovic et al. [256] and Dunjic et al. [257]described the synthesis and properties of urethaneacrylates based on aliphatic HB polyesters, but theproducts have rather high viscosity, especially thosewith higher functionality. In order to reduce theviscosity of the product, urethane acrylates wereobtained from an HB polyester partially modifiedby a soybean fatty acid, IPDI and 2-HEA. Theadditional double bonds from the soybean fattyacids enhance its crosslink density [258]. Alkydsbased on HB polyesters and unsaturated fatty acidsexhibited a substantially lower viscosity comparedto a similar mixture with conventional curing agent.Also they had excellent curing properties withamazingly short curing times, which is beneficialfrom UV cure point of view [233,259,260]. Shi andXu [261] synthesized three UV-curable HB PUacrylates possessing different double-bond densityand partially chain structures, which made thedifference in their photo-polymerization behaviorsand dynamic mechanical and thermal properties.The synthesis of hyperbranched PU acrylate byShi and Xu [261] involves a three-step procedure.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
O
O
O
O O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O OH
OH
OH
OH
O
O
O
OH
OH
O
OH
OH
OO
OO OO
O
O
O
O
HOHO
O
OO
OHOH
O
OH
OH
O O
O OO O
O
O
O
O
OH
OH
OH
OH
O
O O
HOHO
O
HO
HO
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
OHO
HO
HO
HO
O
O
O
HO
HO
OHO
HO
HO
HO
OHHO
HOO OH
BF3O(C2H5)2
O
OO
O O
OO OH
OH
O
OH
O
OO
OH
HO
OHHO
HO
O
O
OHHO
HO
HO
OHOO
OH
O
O O
OH
OH
O
OHOHOO
OHHO
HO OH
HO
OH
Hyperbranched polyglycidol
base catalyst or
Hydroxy functional HBP of the third generation (G3)
a b
Scheme 16. A third generation hyperbranched polyol (a) and hyperbranched polyglycidol (b).
The authors modified HBPE-OH with succinicanhydride or phthalic anhydride and then furtherreacted with epoxy propane and TDI-HEA; thephoto-polymerization and the dynamic mechanicalthermal properties of the resultant materials werestudied (Scheme 18a). In another report from thesame group [262], hyperbranched D-1-OH fromHBPE-COOH was prepared (Scheme 18b). D-1-OHis a translucent viscous liquid and possesses eightdouble bonds at the periphery. They also prepareddendritic polyester with about 12 and 16 end-double
bonds by reacting hydroxyl group of D-1-OH withmethacrylic anhydride. Tasic et al. [263] synthesizedand evaluated new HB urethane acrylates havinghigh functionalities and molecular weights, withacceptable viscosities. Their results show that thecured coatings have excellent mechanical propertiesdue to high molecular weights and acrylate func-tionality.
HB acrylated aromatic polyester based on 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid as an AB2 monomer,ethylenediamine tetra-acetic (EDTA) acid as acore molecule, and HEA as an end-group modi-fier (Scheme 19) [252] can also be used alongwith PU acrylated in UV cure coatings. Inanother report, Wei et al. [264] synthesized anacrylated HB polyester designated as HBP20-Afrom BoltornTM H20. The synthesized HBP20-Awas UV-cured with a linear aromatic PU acrylateresin.
2.6. HBPs in waterborne UV cure systems
In recent excellent studies by Asif et al. [265,267],and Asif and Shi [266], BoltornTM H20 wasmodified with succinic anhydride, and then withglycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The modified acrylic-terminated BoltornTM H20 was then dispersed inwater in the presence of TEA and this dispersionwas used for making waterborne UV-cured PUacrylates (Scheme 20).
The basic idea behind the development ofinorganic–organic hybrid materials is the combina-tion of inorganic and organic moieties on amolecular scale to achieve a synergetic combinationof the properties typical of each of the constituents.Modification of the kind and proportions of theorganic and inorganic components allows a delib-erate tailoring of properties, combining those of theinorganic and organic components. Therefore,processing sol–gel hybrid inorganic–organic materi-als, produces scratch and abrasive-resistant hardnanocomposite coatings with unique propertycombinations of the inorganic counterpart {hard,brittle, excellent heat, UV-radiation stability andsolvent resistance due to stable –(Si–O)n–Si– back-bone} and the organic counterpart (soft, flexible and
possess good mechanical properties) while main-taining optical transparency. The process can beused for the synthesis of well-controlled organic–inorganic hybrid coatings through the incorpora-tion of low molecular weight and oligomeric/polymeric organic molecules with appropriate in-organic moieties [268–270]. The sol–gel syntheticmethod is based on inorganic polymerizationreactions and is widely used for the preparation ofinorganic materials in glass and ceramic industries.The organic–inorganic hybrid materials made inthis way was named ‘‘CERAMERS’’ by Wilkes etal. [271] and ‘‘ORMOSILS’’ or ‘‘ORMOCERS’’ bySchmidt [272] are normally nanocomposites andhave the potential for providing unique combina-tions of properties, which cannot be achieved byother methods. Organic–inorganic hybrid coatingcompositions may be applied by traditional coating
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NN
COOH
COOH
HOOC
HOOC
HOOC COOH
OH
N N O
O
O O
O
O
OO
OO
O
O
OO
O
O
O
O
OO
O
O
OO
OH
O
O
HO
O
HO
O
HO
O
OHO O
O
OH
HO
HO
O
O
OH
O
OH
HO
O OH
OH
O
O
OH
OH
O
O
HO
OO
N N O
O
O O
O
O
OO
OO
O
O
OO
O
O
O
O
OO
O
O
OO
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
OO O
O
O
HO
O
O
O
O
O
O
O O
OO
O
OO
O
EDTA
OH
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
OO
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
OO
O
O
O
O
O
O
OO
O
O O
OO
2-hydroxyethyl acrylate
Scheme 19. Preparation of acrylate-terminated hyperbranched polymers for UV cure coatings.
Interpenetrating networks and simultaneousformation of inorganic and organic phases.
(e)
Using trialkoxysliane R0Si(OR)3 as the precur-sor with R0 being a polymerizable group such asan epoxy group. An organic network can beformed within the inorganic network by eitherphotochemical or thermal curing.
(f)
Use of polymerizable monomers as the co-solventsuch that all mixture components contribute eitherto the silica network or to the organic polymer toavoid large-scale shrinkage [273].
3.1. Class I and II materials
The nanostructure and their arrangements, de-gree of organization and properties of hybrid
sol–gel material depends on the chemical natureand ratio of the components, and the synergeticeffect between these components. Therefore, thetailored design of products includes the tuning ofthe nature, extent and accessibility of the innerinterfaces. The nature of the interface or of the linksand interactions between the organic and inorganiccomponents has been used to categorize thesehybrids into two main classes [274,275].
Class I: Systems where no covalent or iono-covalent bonds are present between the organic andinorganic components. In such materials, thevarious components exchange only weak interac-tions (at least in terms of orbital overlap) such ashydrogen bonding, vander Waals, London orelectrostatic forces.
Class II: At least a fraction of the organic andinorganic components are linked through strongchemical bonds (covalent, iono–covalent, or Lewisacid–base bonds) [276]. Desirable bulk properties ofthe coatings, such as superior hardness, thermal andmechanical properties, as well as reduced perme-ability, can be achieved through the covalentattachment together with the higher networkdensity in hybrid Class II polymeric materials.
3.2. Sol– gel reaction
The reaction is generally divided into two steps:hydrolysis of metal alkoxides to produce hydroxylgroups in the presence of stoichiometric water(usually in the presence of acid or base catalyst),followed by polycondensation of the resultinghydroxyl groups and residual alkoxyl groups toform a three-dimensional network (Scheme 21).Different metal alkoxides based on silicon, alumi-num, transition metal alkoxides such as titaniumand zirconium also have been used as sol–gelprecursors in combination with a variety of organiccomponents. For non-silicate metal alkoxides, gen-erally no catalyst is needed for hydrolysis andcondensation because they are very reactive. Thesequence of reactivity is expressed as follows:
ZrðORÞ4;AlðORÞ34TiðORÞ44SnðORÞ4 � SiðORÞ4.
However, owing to the loss of volatile by-productsformed in the hydrolysis–condensation reactions, itis difficult to control sample shrinkage during three-dimensional network formation [273,277–280].
Factors such as the nature of the alkyl group,solvent, temperature, water to alkoxide molar ratio,
ARTICLE IN PRESS
RO
M
OR
R'
OR
OH2
nucleophilic attack
by water in presence of an acid
H+
R'
M
HOOH
OH
R'
M
HOOH
OH
+ n
R'
M
HOOH
OH
polycondensationR'
M
HOO
O
M
R'O
O
n
alkyl alkoxy silane (when M = Si)
-n H2O
RO
M
OR
R'
OR
OH
nucleophilic attack
by hydroxylion
R'
M
HOOH
OH
_
SN2 -reaction
SN2 -reaction
Condensation Reaction:
Hydrolysis Reaction:
Scheme 21. The sol–gel hydrolysis and condensation polymerization reaction [273].
presence of acid or base catalysts, etc., are known toeffect the hydrolysis reaction [281]. For example, inthe presence of base catalyst, the rate of condensa-tion is fast compared to hydrolysis and results in theformation of dense, colloidal particles. On the otherhand, the rate of condensation is slow relative to therate of hydrolysis under acid catalysis and theresultant silica has a highly ramified, low fractal-dimensional structure with many silanol groups onthe silica surface [282].
The precursors of these compounds are organo-substituted silicic acid esters of general formulaR0nSi(OR)4�n and bridged precursors of silsesquiox-anes X3Si–R
0–SiX3 (X ¼ Cl, Br, OR); where R0 canbe any organo functional group and n is usually 1 or2. If R0 bears any reactive group that can, forexample, polymerize or copolymerize (e.g., metha-cryloyl, epoxy, amino, isocyanate, vinyl or styrylgroups) or undergo hydrolysis-condensation (trialk-oxysilyl groups), it will act as a network former.Therefore, siloxane Class II hybrids can be easilysynthesized as the Si2Csp
3 bonds are covalent andstable towards nucleophilic attack by water, alco-hols, hydroxylated ligands, etc. They can be used,for example, as building blocks for the formation ofhighly ordered polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane
(POSS) clusters [283,284] and as organosilanecoupling agents for ceramic particle coatings[285,286]. A limited selection of sol–gel precursorsis shown in Scheme 22 [287].
Functional silane coupling reagents such as3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) and3-amino-propyltrimethoxysilane are most populartrialkoxysilane-type precursors often used as amodifier of organic polymer precursors. In acid-catalyzed reaction of GPTMS, polymerization ofoxirane moiety is also simultaneously achieved inaddition to the formation of inorganic network,yielding transparent hybrid coatings in whichorganic and inorganic units are linked together bycovalent bonds. The reactions and behavior ofGPTMS in the presence of colloidal silica particleshave been studied by Daniels et al. [288].The reaction mechanism is very complex, andthe morphology and properties of the result-ing coatings are considerably influenced by themethod of their preparation. The best propertiesof these ceramic-particle-based coatings wereachieved when the acidic hydrolysis and alkalinepolycondensation of GPTMS in the presence oflow molecular weight polyamine was used (seeScheme 23) [289,290].
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Si
OMe
MeO
MeO
O
O
Si
EtO
EtO OEt
OEt
Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)
Si
H3C
MeO OMe
OMe
Methyl trimethoxysilane (MTMS)
Si
MeO OMe
OMe
Vinyl trimethoxysilane (VTMS)
Si
EtO OEt
OEt
Vinyl triethoxysilane (VTES)
NH
Si OEt
OEtEtO
SiEtO
OEtOEt
PhTES
SiEtO
OEt
OEt
H2N
3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane (APTES) SiEtO
OEt
OEt
F
F FF
FF
FF
F
FF
F
F
Si
MeO
MeO OMe
OMe
Tetramethoxysilane (TMOS)
Al
OsBu
OsBuBuO
s
Aluminium-sec-butoxide
Zr
PrnO
OnPrPr
nO
OnPr
Zirconium-n-propoxide
EtOSiEtO
EtONH
S
O
O
GPTMS
NH2
Si
OMeMeO
MeO
O
O
3-(trymethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate
SiMeO
OMe
OMe
HN
H2N
AEAPS
TPOZ
SiEtO
EtO OEt
NCO
ICPTES
Scheme 22. Different sol–gel precursors used in coating application [276].
In general, hydroxyl functional alkoxysilanessuch as 3-hydroxypropyl triethoxysilane are notcommercially available because they polymerize dueto intermolecular trans-esterification reaction. Sta-ble hydroxyl functional alkoxysilane can only existin alcoholic solutions. These silanes can be obtainedby hydrolyzing epoxy functional trialkoxysilanessuch as GPTMS and 2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl) ethyl-trimethoxy-silane (ECHETMS) (Scheme 24a and b).Alternatively, they can be prepared by the reaction of3-isocyanato propyltriethoxysilane (ICPTES) withpolyols or amino alcohols. Scheme 24c shows the
preparation of N, N0-bis (2-hydroxyethyl) ureido-propyl triethoxysilane (BHEUPTES). The hydroxylfunctional alkoxysilane obtained can then bereacted with an NCO-terminated PU prepolymer,which on hydrolysis and condensation producessol–gel coatings [291].
3.4. Application of sol– gel process in coatings
Thin sol–gel-derived silica coatings show con-siderable potential in modifying the surface andbulk properties of polymers and finds applicationsin different domains, particularly as abrasive orscratch resistant coatings [292,293]. The mechanical,
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Si
MeO
OMe
OMe
O
ONH2
Si
O
O
O
O
OH
NH
GPTMS
+
GPTMS
Si
O
O
O
O
OH
N
SiO
O
O
OHO
Scheme 23. Use of GPTMS in the development of creamer coatings.
SiMeO
MeO OMe
O
O
H+
/ H2OSi
MeO
MeO OMe
O
OH
OH
SiMeO
MeO OMeO
GPTMS
H+
/ H2O
SiMeO
MeO OMeHO
OH
ECHETMS
SiEtO
EtO OEt
NCO
NH(CH2CH2OH)2Si
EtO
EtO OEt
NH
O
N
OH
OH
ICPTESBHEUPTES
a
b
c
Scheme 24. Formation of hydroxyl functional alkoxysilanes [291].
optical, permeability, corrosion resistance proper-ties are largely influenced by the intrinsic propertiesof the coating and adhesion characteristics with thesubstrate material. These properties are controlledby the sol–gel processing parameters i.e., a judiciouscontrol of the chemistry and processing variables,including the ratio and nature of the organic andinorganic structural units, solution pH, hydrolysisratio, drying and heating temperatures producetunable properties [287,294–296]. Up to now,several inorganic–organic, optically clear abrasion-resistant coating materials have been reported in the
literature [297,298]. In these networks, the Si–O–Siinorganic backbone structure in combination withthe level of crosslinking provides high abrasionresistance and the organic part of the networkcontributes to properties such as impact, toughness,and adhesion improvement.
A wide range of applications for these hybridmaterials with structure controlled at the molecularlevel are envisaged or already exploited. Theseinclude semipermeable, heat and fire resistanthybrid films for packaging and coating applications[299], as conversion coatings and primers on metal
for corrosion protection [300] or even as highperformance coating binders or pigments[279,301]. Therefore, sol–gel coatings with improvedhardness [302,303], toughness [304], elasticity, lowsurface energy [305], chemical, radiation and heatresistance [306], enhanced corrosion protection orsubstrate passivation in corrosive environments[307,308], availability of reactive functional, can beproduced by different approaches [309–317]. Addi-tional advantages are related to the possibility ofcontrolling shape, morphology and topology ofphase-separated domains or pore structure, fromthe macroscopic to the nanometer-size. Therefore,the superior synthetic versatility ensues from theavailability of many synthetic routes to indepen-dently modify the two components or to build-up ahybrid superstructure.
Atanacio et al. [287] studied the mechanicalproperties of various hybrid sol–gel films on coppersubstrates using nanoindentation and tensile testingand observed the dramatic change in indentationresponse and interfacial adhesion with the change inorganic alkyl substituents (R0) to the inorganicsol–gel network. Goda and Frank [282] observedthat even though silica component may destroy theordered hydrogen bonded structure of HS in thePU, at appropriate concentration of silica thederived material showed improved mechanical andthermal properties. Zhang et al. [318] synthesizedself-crosslinkable PU-urea formulations extendedwith different contents of aminoethyl-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (AEAPS). Two routes for thesynthesis of sol–gel PU coatings from the reactionof NCO-capped PU prepolymer with triethoxysilane precursor (aminophenyl) triethoxysilane(APTES) and AEAPS are shown in Scheme 25.
Most inorganic–organic hybrid network materi-als reported in literature are thermally cured[275,306,319–321], often with high transparency[322]. Alternatively, hybrid network materials canalso be prepared by the use of radiation curing usingan UV curable binder system.
3.5. PU acrylate
Sol–gel precursors such as 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM; Scheme 26) can bereacted with an acrylated terminated PU by UV aswell as thermal curing.
The other way is to chemically modify nanosizedsilica particles and make it nanosilica with termi-nated unsaturation that can be reacted with an
acrylic-terminated PU. For example, Yu et al. [323]used TMSPM to modify the silica surface and Liu etal. [324,325] used allylglycidylether as surfacemodifier for silica nanoparticles (Scheme 27).
3.6. Silica grafting
Silica is incorporated into the PU polymer byutilization of an organo-silica linking component.The linking component is a silicon-based material ofthe type including silanes and siloxanes. The linkingcomponent includes two different functionalgroups. The first functional group is an organofunctional group that is effective in reacting withand binding to organic compounds e.g., amine,thiol, hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. The secondfunctional group of the linking component must becapable of reacting with exposed hydroxyl groupson the surface of the silica in order to form a bondbetween the linking component and the silica i.e.,methoxy or ethoxy groups [326]. Chen et al. [327]grafted 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) onfumed spherical nanoparticles and producedAPTES modified silica nanopowder by refluxingthe mixture for 12 h at 120 1C (Scheme 28).
3.7. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)
Silsesquioxane is the term for compounds withthe formula (RSiO1.5)n; they may form cage, ladder,and sheet like oligomers and polymers. Theirsynthesis is based on the hydrolysis-condensationof R0SiX3 derivatives (X ¼ Cl, OMe, OEt, etc.).The hydrolysis reaction of different trifunctionalsilane may produce the diverse structure shown inScheme 29. The hyrdrolysis in acid catalysisproduces loose, coil-like polysilsesquioxanes(SSQO) structures, whereas basic catalysts pro-motes fast polycondensation, leading to compact,cagelike products [328]. Silsesquioxanes nanobrickscorrespond to cage compounds, where n is an evennumber ranging from 6 to 18 [329,330]. The mostcommon nanobrick is a cubic-shaped octamer(n ¼ 8) with one silicon atom at each corner. Thisoligomer has a size of ca. 10 A, and can be thoughtas the smallest existing part of silica [329]. Changingthe nature and/or the size of the outer functionalgroup allows the generation of an enormousnumber of POSS-based molecules with a wide rangeof tailored properties. For example, surface proper-ties and the miscibility behavior can be altered byproper choice of hydrophobic or hydrophilic
ARTICLE IN PRESS
OCN R NCO HO O H OCN R NH OC
O
O NCOHN
HNNH
RC
O
NH
Si OCH2CH3
OCH2CH3H3CH2CO
NSi
OCH2CH3H3CH2CO
H3CH2CONH
O
+
n nexcess
R OC
O
O RC
ON Si
H3CH2n
HNn
HNn
CO OCH2CH3
OCH2CH3
HN
O
H2O,H+
PU prepolymer
HN
Si OCH2CH3
OCH2CH3H3CH2CO
H2N
OO RC
ON Si
O O
OHN
O
OO RC
O
HN
NHN
O
O
O
SiOO
O
NCOOCN
PU prepolymer NCOOCN
PU prepolymer NCOOCN
PU prepolymer NH
O
O
Scheme 25. Preparation of polymer sol–gel precursors and the sol–gel process to form organic–inorganic hybrid coatings.
attachments [331]. Hybrids may be produced by(1) blending POSS into a polymer matrix, (2) co-valently bonding POSS into a polymer backboneand (3) reacting POSS macromer possessing onepolymerizable functional group with a suitablefunction in the polymer [332]. Polymers incorporat-ing POSS are becoming the focus of many studiesdue to the simplicity of processing and the excellentcomprehensive properties of this class of hybridmaterials. The hybrid polymers show improved
properties such as higher Tg and modulus, a largeincrease in heat distortion, reduced flammabilityand enhanced mechanical strength [333].
Polyhedral silsesquioxane molecules are easyto prepare in high yield and standard organicmanipulations can be applied to functionalize theexterior of the molecules, generally in high yieldwith retention of the silsesquioxane structure intact.Examples of reactions of POSS species can be foundin a review by Lichtenhan [335], and references
ARTICLE IN PRESS
O
O Si
H 3CO OCH 3
OCH 3
PhO
OPh
3-(trymethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate
step-1
a. sol-gel reaction
b. post curing
step-2
O O
(HEMA)
OO
NCOOCN PU prepolymer
OH
O
O
NH
PU prepolymer
O
O Si
H 3CO OCH3
OCH3
OO
OPU prepolymer
O
O Si
O O
O
OO
OPU prepolymer
O
O
NH
O
O
O
ONH
Scheme 26. Synthesis of polyurethane-acrylate sol–gel coatings.
OH
OH
OHHO
HO O
O
O
O
OHO
HO
O
OH
O
OH
OOH
+SnCl2 - H2O
peroxide initiator networkallyl glycidyl ether
nano silica
NCO terminated PU prepolymer
+ acrylate terminated PU
Scheme 27. Surface functionalization of nanosilica particles and the formation of crosslinked networks [324, 325].
therein. An efficient method for preparingfunctionalized POSS involves the corner-cappingof incompletely condensed POSS trisilanolsR7T7(OH)3 (Scheme 30). Corner-capping of thePOSS trisilanol can be carried out using a varietyof trichlorosilane coupling agents to producefully condensed T8-POSS silicon-oxygen frame-works [336,337]. In addition to corner-capping,POSS trisilanol reacts with a wide range ofmain group, transition metal, and lanthanide
elements to afford fully condensed metal-silses-quioxanes [338].
Pendant POSS can be introduced into the PUstructure through polycondensation reactions[339–341]. For example, the nanobrick (HMe2–SiO)(c-C6H11)7Si8O12 was reacted with 3,30-diallyl-bi-sphenol A and produces BPA-POSS, which then co-polycondensed with PTMG and MDI [333,339].BPA-POSS can be used as diol CE to produce PUhybrid (Scheme 31). Devaus et al. [342] reported
ARTICLE IN PRESS
OH
OHOH
OH
OHHO
HO
HO
SiO
NH2
O
O
+
O
OO
O
OHO
HO
O
SiNH2
S i
NH2 OCN NCO
O
OO
O
OHO
HO
O
S iNH
S i
NH
PU / SIAPnanocomposite
PU-prepolymer
S i
R
R1O
OR1
OR1
R = -CH3, -OCH2CH3 etc
CH3 etcR1 = -CH3, -CH2
NH
O
O
NH
APTES
alkoxysilane
Silica
colloid
SIAP
Scheme 28. Schematic formation of 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES)-modified silica (SIAP) by grafting APTES into the silica
nanoparticles surface and PU/SIAP hybrid nanocomposites. Scheme for the preparation of SIAP was reproduced with permission from
that the incorporation of POSS into PU gavematerials with improved flame retardance. Morerecently, Liu and Zheng [343] used octa aminophe-nyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (Oap-POSS) to replace part of the aromatic aminecrosslinking agent, and thus the POSS cages act asnanostructured crosslinking sites and producedimproved thermal stability (Scheme 32).
POSS may also be used as a nanocrosslinker in PUsystems. This is accomplished through the functiona-lization of POSS with eight identical groups that maybe reacted to form materials with a high crosslinkdensity. Neumann et al. [332] reported the synthesis ofa new type of POSS macromer with eight reactiveisocyanate groups suitable for the synthesis of hybridorganic–inorganic urethane nanomaterials with dis-crete POSS molecules dispersed within the polymermatrix (Scheme 33).
3.8. Bridged polysilsesquioxanes
Bridged polysilsesquioxanes are a family ofhybrid organic–inorganic materials prepared by
sol–gel polymerization of molecular building blocksthat contain a variable organic bridging group andat least two trialkoxysilyl groups. Trialkoxy-silyl groups are the most common silyl function-ality, although other groups, such as silyl chlorides,have served as precursors as well. The molecularbuilding blocks used for their synthesis are com-prised of a variable organic component and aninorganic oxide precursor. A small change in thevariable organic component results in profoundchanges in the final properties (e.g., surface area,thermal stability, etc.).
Shea and Loy [344] reviewed the preparation andapplication of bridged polysilsesquioxane as a classof hybrid organic–inorganic hydrid materials. Sol–gel polymerization of bridged trialkoxysilanesproceeds by a series of hydrolysis and condensationreactions. The high level of functionality ofthese monomers may result in their rapid gelation,even in dilute solution. The bridging group canbe varied as well as the ethoxy group can bereplaced in varying degree with an organic R groupthat may or may not have any functionality to
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Si
O
Si O Si
O
O
Si
O
Si
O
O Si
O
RR
R
R
R
R
R
R'
R
R
R
R
R
Si
O
SiO
Si
OSi
O
OSi
OSi
O
OSi
O
O
O
Si
R
R
R'
R
R
R
R
R
O
Si
O
Si
OSi
O Si
O
Si
O
Si
O
Si
OSi
O Si
OSi
O
O
O
OO
O
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
RR
Si
O
Si
O Si
O
Si
O Si
OO
Si
O
O O
O
O O
Si
O
Si
O Si
O
Si
O Si
OO
Si
R
R
R R
R
R
R R
R
RR
R
T8 T10 T12
O Si
OSi
OH
R
HOR
O
R
Partial cage structure
O
SiO
Si
O
SiO
Si
O
SiO
Si
O
SiO
SiO
O
RR
RR R
RR
R
Ladder structure
R
Si
OO
OSi
Si
R
O
O
O OSi Si
SiO
O
R R
O
OR
SiO O
R
O
R
Random structure
Scheme 29. Generation of different structure during hydrolysis of trifunctional silane [334].
Si
O
Si O Si
O Si
O
OSi
Si
O
O SiO
RR
R
R
R OH
R
OH
R
OHSi
Cl
ClCl
O
O
H3C
R
R
R R
R
R
R
O
O
H3C
Si
Cl Cl
R Cl
R
R
R'
R
R
R
R
O
AlR
R
R
R
R
R
Al
O
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
reflux
Acetone / water
POSS trisilanol
highly soluble macromers in common organic solvent
R'SiX3
Me3Al
3 NE THF
THF
t3
3 NEt3
SiCl Cl
Cl
R
R
R R
R
R
R
Scheme 30. Preparation of functionalized POSS [336,338].
decrease the crosslinking and making a solubleproduct that can be used to react with NCO-terminated PU prepolymer or to make nano-powder, which can then be used as reinforcing
fillers to tailor make the products. Schemes 34aand b show the preparation of PU-bridged poly-silsesquioxanes from isocyanate silane [344,345].Ether- and urea-bridged polysilsesquioxanes used
ARTICLE IN PRESS
R
R
R
R
R
RR
R
R
R
R
Si
R
RR
R
H3C H
CH3
1. Diallyl Bisphenol A / Pt
2. H2 / Pd
R
R
R
Si
R
RR
R
CH3
H3C
OH
HO
where, isSi Si
OSi
OSiO
O
OCN NCO
R
R
R
SiR
R
R
CH3
H3C
O
O
HN
O
NH
O
BPA-POSS
POSS-PU
a
c
d
b
Scheme 31. Schematic diagram of the synthetic route for POSS-PU: (a) octaalkyl-POSS, (R group enhance solubilizing in organic matrix),
(b) one corner group substituted by hydridomethylsiloxy group: hydrido-POSS; and (c) one corner group substituted by 3-(allybisphenol-
A) propyldimethylsiloxy group: BPA-POSS; and (D) POSS-PU [333].
Scheme 32. Polyurethane hybrid network containing POSS [343]. Reproduced from Liu H. and Zheng S. by permission fromWiley–VCH.
A wide variety of fillers, whiskers and fibers aswell as clay and wollastonites, are being used in PUformulations to reinforce the PU matrix forimproved hardness, strength and stiffness. In gen-eral, the properties of filled PUs depend on fillershape, average diameter and interfacial coupling.To meet modern technological demands in thisarena, the size of the materials should be reduced to
the nanometer scale though high specific surfacearea of nanomaterials, which results in highreactivity and a strong tendency towards agglom-eration and rapid grain growth. Nanomaterials canbe classified into nanocrystalline materials andnanoparticles. The former are polycrystalline bulkmaterials with grain sizes in the nanometer range(less than 100 nm), while the latter refers to ultrafinedispersive particles with diameters below 100 nm.Nanoparticles are generally considered as thebuilding blocks of bulk nanocrystalline materials.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Si
NH2
EtO
EtOOEt
Si
NCO
EtO
EtOOEt
Si NH
EtO
EtO OEt
NH
O
Si
OEtEtO
OEt
SiOEt
OEt
SiEtOEtO
EtO
OH
Si
SiO
OEtOEt
EtO OEt
SiOEt
OEtEtO
Si
EtO
EtO
EtO
Si
O
EtO
EtO
SiOEt
O
Si
EtO
EtO
O
Si
OEt
OEt
EtO
Si
EtOOEtSi
EtO
EtO
EtO
Si
EtO
OEtSi
EtO
EtOOEt
Si NH
EtO
EtO OEt
NH
O
Si
OEtEtO
OEtSi
OEtOEt
SiEtOEtO
EtO
OH
OHHO
OO
O
HN
O
NHSi Si OEt
OEt
OEtEtO
EtOOEt
Si OO Si OEt
OEt
OEt
EtO
OEtOEt
H2O
HOEt
hydrolysis
condensation
where is
Bridged
Polysilsesquioxane
variable organic component
example,
Si NH
NHEtO
OEtOEt
O
N
O NH
SiEtO
OEt
OEt
NH
NH
O
SiOEt
OEt
OEt
a
b
c
d
Scheme 34. Synthesis of bridged polysilsesquioxanes. Part of the scheme was reproduced with permission from Chem. Mater. 2001; 13:
3306–3319 [344]. Copyright 2001, American Chemical Society.
Nanoparticles synthesized from several routes mayhave different internal structures that would affectthe properties of materials consolidated from them.As unique properties of nanocrystalline materialsderived from their fine grain size, it is of crucialimportance to retain the microstructure at a
nanometer scale during consolidation to form thebulk materials [346].
The search for nanostructured coatings withunique physico-chemical properties is driven bythe improvement in coating technologies andthe availability of various kinds of synthesized
nanopowders, which results on incorporation to thePU matrix an interface with high cohesive strength;good mechanical, thermal, barrier and flame-retar-dant properties; higher specific heat and electricalresistivity; improved hardness and fracture tough-ness [347,348]. In the past decade, favorableapplications have been found for hard and wear-resistant ceramic coatings in industrial sectors[281,349–352].
3.9.2. Nanosilica, Fe2O3 and TiO2 particles
Nanoscale silica particles do not have the narrowgallery structure of layered clay, but possess a largeinterfacial area as long as the diameter of theparticles is in the range of nanometers, and they arewell dispersed in the polymer. The improvement inphysical properties [353–356] and thermal stability[357] by the addition of nanoscale silica particles topolymers were reported. The addition of mesoscalesilica particles to various polymers significantlyreduces the heat release rate of the polymers[358,359]. It was reported that polymers filled withnanoscale size silica particles exhibit a second,apparent glass transition at a much higher tempera-ture than that of the polymer resins. This phenom-enon was attributed to the formation of tightlybound and loosely bond polymer chains around theparticles, which might improve the thermal stabilityand flammability of the polymer [360].
In the coating industry, the vibratory mechanicalmilling process is used to prepare nanocrystallineFe2O3 and TiO2 powders. In this process, rawpowder particles with a size of several micronsexperience severe plastic deformation, i.e., undergoa repetitive cold welding and fracturing mechanism[361]. The disadvantage of ball milling for makingnanocrystalline Fe2O3 powders is the contaminationof products from the milling media (balls and vial)and the atmosphere. For example, the powders maybe contaminated with Fe if steel balls and containersare used [281].
3.9.3. Clay
Talc, mica and montmorillonite, hectorite, lapo-nite and saponite belongs to the general family of2:1 layered- or phyllosilicates and are characterizedby a moderate negative surface charge (known asthe cation exchange capacity, CEC and expressed inmeq/100 g). Montmorillonite is an expandabledioctahedral smectite with a mean layer chargedensity of 0.25–0.50 equiv/mol and consisted ofdisc-like shaped layers of 100 nm in diameter and
1-nm thick with a regular van Der Waals gapbetween the interlayer. They are made up of two-silicate tetrahedron fused to an edge-shared octahe-dral sheet of either aluminum or magnesiumhydroxide. Isomorphic substitution within thelayers generates negative charges, which are com-pensated by alkaline earth or hydrated alkali-metalcations (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+ or K+) residing in thegallery space [362]. The layers swell in water and the1-nm-thick layers can be easily exfoliated byshearing, giving platelets with high aspect ratio.The ion exchange reactions of montmorillonite withvarious organic cations such as alkyl ammoniumcations or with cationic surfactant produce hydro-phobic and organically modified montmorillonite.The organic cations lowered the surface energy ofsilicate layers and increase the basal-plane spacing(d spacing). This improves wetting, swelling, mis-cibility between the silicate layers and the polymerand exfoliation of the aluminosilicate in the polymermatrix [363–366]. Additionally, the organic cationsmay contain various functional groups that reactwith the polymer to improve adhesion between theinorganic phase and the matrix.
It is the absorption and swelling characteristicsthat makes montmorillonite so useful for industrialand commercial applications. The theoretical for-mula and structure for montmorillonite is shown inFig. 2.
3.9.4. Nanocomposite coatings
Polymer–clay nanocomposites are a new class offilled polymers in which clay platelets at thenanometer scale are dispersed in a polymer matrix.These silicate nanocomposite coatings possessseveral advantages, such as (i) lighter weight dueto the low clay content (between 2 and 5wt%),which is economically interesting; (ii) enhancedmechanical behavior i.e., higher stiffness andstrength [367,368]; (iii) higher permeation-barrierproperties due to reduction in straightwaymovement of water and oxygen molecule [362];(iv) improved thermal properties, such as fireretardance and heat distortion temperature (HDT)[362,369–378].
Several routes were developed to achieve a highdegree of dispersion of the clay nanoplatelets: (i) in
situ polymerization of monomers which wereinitially intercalated between silicate layers, (ii) meltintercalation and further exfoliation for thermo-plastic polymers and (iii) combination with apolymer solution [379].
ARTICLE IN PRESS
etrahedral
ctahedral
etrahedral
ygen
cantahedral
va
hangeable
on
M+y(Al2-y Mgy)(Si4) O10(OH)2, nH2O
Fig. 2. Structure of montmorillonite [362].
Fig. 3. Scheme of different types of composite arising from the
interaction of layered silicates and polymers: (a) conventional
Depending on the nature of the components used(layered silicate, organic cation and polymer matrix)and the method of preparation, three main types ofcomposites may be obtained when layered clay isassociated with a polymer. When the polymer isunable to intercalate between silicate sheets, aphase-separated composite (Fig. 3a) is obtained,whose properties are in the same range as tradi-tional microcomposites. Therefore, any physicalmixture of a polymer and silicate (or inorganicmaterial in general), however, does not form ananocomposite. There are two possible types ofnanocomposites with ultrafine dispersion at thenanometer level. Fig. 3b shows the intercalatedstructure, where a single (and sometimes more thanone) extended polymer chain is intercalated betweenthe silicate layers resulting in a well orderedmultilayer morphology built up with alternatingpolymeric and inorganic layers. When polymersintercalate layered silicates, interlayer distanceincreases and the silicates are broken down intotheir nanoscale building blocks to afford dispersionsof anisotropic inorganic–organic hybrid particleswith high aspect ratios. When the silicate layersare completely and uniformly dispersed in a
continuous polymer matrix, an exfoliated or dela-minated structure is obtained (Fig. 3c) [365,367,368,371,379–381]. The delaminated structure is of
particular interest because it makes the entiresurface of clay layers available for the polymer,and maximizes polymer–clay interactions. In suchan environment, the interfacial bonding between thepolymer matrix and the reinforcing materials will bedramatically increased [382,383].
3.9.5. Effect of alkyl chain length, cation type and
organoclay concentration
The longer chain length of the alkyl group in theammonium ion produces better hydrophobicity andgenerates better compatibility between the hydro-phobic polymer and the hydrophilic negativelycharged montmorillonite layer [371]. The modifiedclays in the binder adopt a structure, where thecarbon chains are fully extended and orientedperpendicularly to the silicate plane. Therefore,intercalated, partially exfoliated or totally exfoliatednanocomposite structure formation depends on thealkyl chain length of modified clays. For example,the protonated n-octylamine generates an interca-lated and partially exfoliated structure, whereas theprotonated n-octadecylamine gives a totally exfo-liated structure [384]. In order to activate clayexfoliation, presence of acidic species in the inter-gallery is necessary. The decrease in layer exfolia-tion with decreasing Bronsted acidity of theexchange ion follows the order [385]:
CH3ðCH2Þ17NHþ3 4CH3ðCH2Þ17NðCH3ÞHþ2
4CH3ðCH2Þ17NðCH3Þ2Hþ4CH3ðCH2Þ17NðCH3Þ
þ3 .
Chen et al. [380,386] studied the effect oforganoclay concentration on the properties of PU/clay nanocomposite. Yao et al. [381] observed adecrease in thermal conductivity with an increase inthe loading of layered clay to a polyether–urethanematrix.
In order to improve the tensile-mechanicalproperties [387] and thermal durability [388] of PUby silicates, Tien and Wei modified montmorillonitewith reactive swelling agents containing one tothree hydroxyl groups and then treated the swellingagent (such as tris-hydroxymethyl aminomethane)as a pseudo-CE along with the regular CE, 1,4-butanediol, for a reaction with the isocyanategroups of PU prepolymer to extend its chain length(Scheme 35). The reactive swelling agents used havedual functions: (1) the amine group in these reactiveswelling agents was converted into an onium formto replace the metal ions in the gallery of thesilicates for intercalation and (2) the available
hydroxyl functional groups can react with theisocyanate groups of the PU prepolymer. Theintercalation force for attaining an exfoliatedstructure of silicates in PU apparently reached themaximum in the case of a trihydroxyl-groupswelling agent.
4. Flame-retardant coatings
Flame-retardant coatings are non-combustiblematerials, which prevent or delay flashover fromthe coating surface of combustibles. The research onflame-retardant materials was spurred by an impor-tant finding of flame-retardant materials such ashalogenated paraffin and antimony oxide in thecourse of research on flame-retardant militaryclothing used by the US during World War II. Afterthat, the finding of a synergism between the halogencompound and antimony oxide made halogencompounds a typical organic flame-retardant com-pound. Halogenated additives work by suppressingignition and by slowing flame spread. During inci-neration, the evolved halogen acids can act as irri-tants. Halogen acids are also potential corrosiveagents for metals [389]. A growing demand to avoidthese disadvantages have resulted in the developmentof non-halogen-containing flame retardant [390].
Two general approaches to achieve flame retar-dancy in polymers are known as the additive andthe ‘reactive’ types. Additive-type flame retardantsare incorporated into the polymer by physicalmeans, and as a consequence poor compatibility,leaching and a reduction in mechanical propertiestakes place due to the reduction in hydrogen bondassociation in the PUs. Reactive flame retardantsinvolves either the design of new intrinsically flameretarding polymers or the modification of existingpolymers through copolymerization with a flameretarding unit(s), either in the chain or as pendent[391]. The incorporation of phosphorus-containingchemical units into the PU backbone or in the sidechain is the most effective way to improve flameretardance, because a phosphorus group acceleratescrosslinked phosphorus-carbonaceous char forma-tion. Therefore, PUs containing reactive-type flame-retardants char more easily during combustion thanthat containing additive-type flame-retardants, andresults in higher flame retardancy [392,393].
Based on the flame-retardant mechanism, thesecoatings can be classified into intumescent and non-intumescent, i.e., those that swell and char onexposure to a flame, and those that do not do so,
ARTICLE IN PRESS
OCN NCO
H3N
R1
OH
H3N
R1
O
O
NH3
R2
H3N
R2
HO
HO
+
O
O
O
NH
HNO
NH3
R1O
NH3
R3
HO
HO
+
OH
O O
O
NHO
HN
O
NH
NH
++
+
tri-hydroxyl group
swelling agent
di-hydroxyl group
swelling agent
mono-hydroxyl group
swelling agent
+
NCO terminated prepolymer
c
a
b
Scheme 35. Schematic drawings of the molecular architecture of PU/layered silicates nanocomposites through reactive swelling agents
containing (a) monohydroxyl group, (b) dihydroxyl group, or (c) trihydroxyl group. Reproduced with permission from Macromolecules
2001; 34: 9045–9052 [387]. Copyright 2001, American Chemical Society.
respectively. Intumescent systems have attractedmore and more attention from many researchers[394,395]. The porous foamed mass, usually carbo-naceous produced by an intumescent material actsas a barrier to heat, air and pyrolysis product. Achar forming agent, a catalyst for char formationand a foaming (spumific) agent are used inintumescent coatings. At high temperature, theformed charred layer on the coating surfaceprovides resistance to both heat and mass transfer,giving good heat insulation to the underlyingbinder. Intumescent systems consist of three mainsubstances: an acid source (e.g., phosphorus-con-taining substance), a carbon source (e.g., polybasicalcohol), and a gas source (nitrogen-containingsubstances).
4.1. Organophosphorus compounds
Many organophosphorus compounds of varioustypes have been synthesized for use as flame
retardants, and some of them are commerciallyavailable. Reactive phosphorus-containing com-pounds, mainly polyols, are the most suitable flameretardants for easy inclusion in the PU structure[396]. Unlike non-reactive additives, they do notdiffuse toward the surface of the polymeric materialand remain more resistant against combustion forlonger periods [397]. Some basic structure, such asphenyl dichlorophosphate, phenyl phosphonicdichloride, 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenan-threne-10-oxide (DOPO) and spirocyclic pentaery-thritol di (phosphoric acid monochlorides)(SPDPC) shown in Scheme 36 [398–403] haveattracted unique attention due to the presence ofan electrophilic phosphorus center in all thesestructures. An organo-modifier i.e., a nucleophilecan modify these structures. For example, 1,3-dihydroxybenzene (resorcinol) reacts with phenyldichlorophosphate and produces bis(3-hydroxyphe-nyl) phenyl phosphate (BHPP) [404], which can bereacted with an NCO-capped PU. Ma et al. [397]
ARTICLE IN PRESS
OP
O
OH
HO
O
O
P
O
ClClP
O
OO
O
P
O
ClCl
HO OH
R OH RHO R OH
O
P
O
H
O
O
O
P
O
OH
HO
O
HO
O
O
H
O
OHOHO
O
P
O
O
P
O
OHOH
O
O
O
O OHO
H
phenylphosphonic dichloride
+ HOtriethylamine, Cu2Cl2
+
resorcinolphenyldichlorophosphate bis (3-hydroxyphenyl) phenyl phosphate
THF
DOPO
1,4-bezoquinone
THF
BHPP
DOPO
maleic acid (MA)
itaconic acid (ITA)
THF
DOPO
THF
DOPO
DOPOMA
DOPOITA
P
O
O
O
Cl
O
O
P
O
Cl
spirocyclic phosphate containing polyol
spirocyclic pentaerytheritol di (phosphoric acid monochlorides) [SPDPC]
Scheme 36. Different organophosphorus reactive-type flame retardants [391, 397, 404].
used spirocyclic phosphate-containing polyols asreactive-type flame retardant material in PU coat-ings. Kuo et al. [405] synthesized oligomericpolyalkyl phosphate-type polyols from phosphorusoxychloride, ethylene glycol and 1,4-butanediol.These polyols were then reacted with TDI to formthe corresponding flame retardant PUs. Chang et al.[406] prepared PUs from TDI, PPG and phenylbis(hydroxyethyl)-phosphonate. Park et al. [407,408] incorporated phosphorus functions in polyester
polyols and produced phosphorus-containing lac-tone-modified polyesters. Mequanint et al. [409]used a phosphate-containing carboxylic acid and aglycol to prepare phosphated polyester macroglycol.
In the UV cure technology, contributions havecome from Zhu and Shi [410–412] and Wang et al.[413]. Different phosphorus-containing diols ortriols were reacted with diisocyanates and producedNCO-capped monomers. These monomers werefurther reacted with hydroxyl group containing
acrylates e.g., HEMA or HEA to produce unsatu-rated reactive-type flame retardants. For example,methacrylated phosphate (MAP) and diphosphate(MADP) reactive flame retardant for UV-curableformulations were synthesized by Zhu and Shi [412].In their study, phosphorus trichloride was reactedwith ethanol and the resulting product (C2H5O)2-POH was treated with sodium bicarbonate andpotassium permanganate to get diethylphosphoricacid (DEPA). The reaction of DEPA with glycidylmethacrylate results in MAP, whereas treatment ofMAP with TDI produce MADP (Scheme 37a).MADP contains terminal unsaturation and can beused for making PU-acrylate flame retardant for-mulation. Wang et al. [413] copolymerized DMPE(Scheme 37b) with different acrylic monomers andprepared acrylic co-polyols, which they reacted withMDI for the preparation of flame retardant PUs.
For aqueous-based PUs, the introduction ofphosphorus-containing curing agents during thepost-curing reaction is a very effective way toimpart flame retardancy, improving thermal stabi-lity and tensile strength [414,415]. The carboxylgroups of the PU are the reactive sites towardaziridinyl compounds (Scheme 38). A synergisticeffect was observed in the aziridinyl and phos-phorus-containing compounds in cured PUs. CuredPUs exhibited better thermal stability and a higheroxygen limiting index value. Wang and Chen [415]
Scheme 37. Structure of (a) MADP and (b) DMPE [412, 413].
synthesized a series of phosphorus and multi-aziridinyl group containing post-curing agents.Huang et al. [416] introduced aziridinyl phospha-zene (NPAZ) as a flame retardant into an anionicPUD and observed an increase in thermal andmechanical properties with a small dosage of thecuring agent. NPAZ was prepared from thesubstitution reaction of hexachlorocyclotriphospha-zene with aziridine in a similar mechanism similar tothat with POCl3. NPAZ served dual functions: (1)as a crosslinker and (2) as a reactive flame retardantfor the curing of aqueous-based PU. Therefore, thisPU-curing system needs only a small phosphazene-curing dosage to achieve its improved performance.
4.3. Phosphazenes
Phosphazenes, [NPR2], are an important class ofinorganic compounds. The most striking character-istic of phosphazenes is their ability to form highpolymers, of which the properties can be tailored bythe choice of appropriate R groups on phosphorus.The R group can be an organic, inorganic ororganometallic unit. For an in-depth knowledge,readers may go through the review articles about thesynthesis and use of functionalized poly(organopho-sphazenes) and related compounds written by All-cock [417,418] and De Jaeger and Gleria [419]. Theyare usually prepared by nucleophilic substitutionreactions with an alkoxides, aryloxides, or aminescontaining functionality and by protection–depro-tection steps of the respective functions. Newadditions to the flame retardant application includethe blending of poly (bispropoxyphosphazene) withPU [420]. The cyclic trimer of phosphazene isknown as cyclotriphosphazene. Cyclotriphospha-zenes, one more important type of flame retardantagent, are usually made from the starting materialhexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCP) with six re-active chlorine atoms. The extreme reactivity of thechlorine atoms towards nucleophilic substitutioncan be used to introduce a number of functionalgroups to convert into reactive intermediates. Thisconversion allows preparation of new monomersand polymers [421,422]. Hexakis (methacryloy-lethoxy) cyclophosphazene (NPHE) [423,424] canbe prepared by direct reaction of HCP with HEMA(Scheme 39d). Reaction of HCP with ally1 alcoholor with ally1 amine can be used to produce allyl-group containing cyclophosphazenes (Scheme 39f).Among hydroxyl functional cyclophosphazene,hydroxyphenyl functional phosphazene [421],
dihydroxyl cyclotriphosphazene (2OH-CTP) [425]and hexa-tert-butylhydroquinone-cyclotriphospha-zene [422] were synthesized in a similar fashionand can be used to prepare new cyclotriphospha-zene-containing PUs (Scheme 39b, e.g.). UV-curingreaction of phosphazene acrylate monomer e.g.,NPHE with PU acrylate oligomer is a convenient
process to introduce covalent-bonded phosphorusinto PU [424].
4.4. Silsesquioxanes and organo-boranes
Silsesquioxanes impart flame resistance on in-corporation to PU structure; these are discussed in
ARTICLE IN PRESS
N
PN
P
NP
Cl Cl
Cl
ClCl
Cl
OHHO
N
PN
P
NP
O O
O
OO
O
OH
OH
HO
HO OH
HO
N
PN
P
NP
Cl OPh
OPh
ClPhO
Cl
NaO OH
NP
NP N
P
O
OPh
PhOO
PhO
O
OH
HO
OH
N
PN
P
NP
O O
O
OO
O
OH
HO
hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCP)
HCP
cyclohexane4-Picoline
hexa-tert-butylhydroquinone-cyclotriphosphazene
tert-butylhydroquinone
+ 3 NaOPh
hydroxyphenyl functional phosphazene
N
PN
P
NP
Y Y
Y
YY
Y
where Y is -O- or -NH-2OH-CTP
HCP
N
PN
P
NP
HOH2CH2CO OCH2CH2OH
OCH2CH2OH
OCH2CH2OHHOH2CH2CO
HOH2CH2CO
6 NaOCH2CH2OH
OCl
N
PN
P
NP
OH2CH2CO OCH2CH2O
OCH2CH2O
OCH2CH2OOH2CH2CO
OH2CH2CO
O
O
OO
O
O
HEMA
Hexakis (methacryloylethoxy)cyclophosphazene
NPHE
ab
c
d
f g
e
Scheme 39. Synthetic methods for the preparation of hydroxy-terminated and allyl group-containing cyclotriphosphazene [391, 421–425].
Section 3.7. The chemical modification of a polymerchain by boron-containing compounds leads tosignificant improvement in flame retardancy [426].Tris(2-hydroxypropyl) borate (Scheme 40a) can beused in the PU formulation as a reactive flameretardant. It was prepared from boric acid and1,2-propanediol [427,428]. Other example inclu-des the reaction products of boric acid with1,3-butanediol [3], monoethanolamine [429] andepichlorohydrin [430].
Icosahedral carboranes (dicarba-closo-dodeca-boranes) are a class of carbon-containing boron-cluster compounds having remarkable thermal andchemical stability and exceptional hydrophobiccharacter compared with other boron-containing
compounds. These qualities have made possible thedevelopment of extensive derivative and substitu-tion products. Most carborane derivatives of theicosahedral (C2B10) or small cage (C2B4) systems areformed by varying the groups on the cage carbonatoms. This is usually accomplished in the originalcarborane synthesis by treating substituted acety-lenes with either the decaborane or pentaboraneprecursors to give directly carboranes that haveadjacent carbon atoms in the cage (carbon atomsadjacent). The larger cages are obtained as closo-icosahedra. The three isomers of closo-dodecabor-ane are the ortho, para and meta-form. On heatingat 470–600 1C in an inert atmosphere, o-carboraneundergoes an irreversible thermal reaction resulting
ARTICLE IN PRESS
O
B
O
O
OH OH
OH
NH
B
NH
HN
OH OH
OHa b
Scheme 40. Structure of boron-containing reactive-type flame
in the formation of the meta- isomer in quantitativeyield. Further heating to about 650–700 1C in inertatmosphere results in another isomerization form-ing p-carborane.
The carborane cage is generally stable towardsorganic reactions and it is possible to carry out avariety of reactions on substituent groups attachedto carborane while leaving the cage system intact. Incarborane, the carbon-bound hydrogen atoms areacidic and can be easily deprotonated, allowing theformation of numerous derivatives, including a widevariety of organic substituents. On the other hand,substitution at boron atoms is relatively difficult.The acidic hydrogen atom can be easily removedusing alkyllithiums, LDA or t-BuOK giving riseto a highly nucleophilic carbanion. Reaction ofcarbanion with electrophile organo-modifier pro-vides a convenient route to C–C bonds formation(Scheme 41; [431]). For example, Cheung et al. [432]prepared hydroxyalkyl o-carboranes by a verysimple method. Diaryl-o-carboranes with substitu-ents at the para- or meta-position of aromatic ringsare used as backbone structure in various fields ofchemistry [433,434]. Vinyl and isopropenyl o-car-boranes prepared from o-carboranes do not poly-merize via a radical mechanism due to the highelectronegativity of the carborane nucleus and sterichindrances. Whereas, acryloyl or methacryloylderivatives of o-carborane are active and are usedin homo- and copolymerization reactions [435].
Delman et al. [436] prepared carboranes-PU andstudied the thermal behavior of structurally relatedpolymers having a carborane nucleus in therecurring unit. Parrott et al. [437] prepared athird-generation hyperbranched polyester polyol(Scheme 42) from the functionalized m-carboranes.Though the application of this HBP was different intheir study, but it can be used in low concentrationas a crosslinker in 2K NCO-capped PU formula-
tion for the preparation of thermally stable PUcoatings. For a detailed knowledge of other kinds offlame-retardant additives used in PUs, readers mayconsult the recent reviews of Lu and Hamerton [391]and Levchik and Weil [3].
5. Application of fluoropolymer in PU coatings
The ever increasing demand of paints for outdoordurability and high resistance in aggressive environ-ments has resulted in ongoing development offluoropolymer coatings with interesting bulk andsurface properties [438–445]. The C–F bonds inorganic molecules are very strong and the inter-molecular interactions of the fluorocarbons areweak due to the small size and high electronegativityof fluorine. So, the presence of, say the trifluor-omethyl group, strongly affects chemical reactivity.For example, nucleophilic substitution at a trifluor-omethyl-substituted carbon atom is not an easyprocess. The difficulty is attributed to destabiliza-tion of the transition state by fluorine and also toelectrostatic repulsion between a nucleophile andthe lone pair of electrons on the fluorine atoms. As aconsequence, fluorine-containing polymeric materi-als exhibit unique property combinations of lowsurface energy; low friction; low refractive indices;dirt repellant; biological inertness (i.e., resistant to aharsh environment); good resistance to corrosivechemicals; good stability against hydrolysis; lowwater and ion permeability; low solubility in polarand non-polar organic solvents (being non-wettableand oleophobic, low interfacial free energy) due tosubstantial hydrophobicity. They also have remark-able resistance to flame, UV radiation, foulingagents like by marine organisms, chemicals, sol-vents, oxidative attack and possess excellent thermalstability [446–453]. The hydrophobic nature reflectslow values of cohesive energy density and surfaceenergy. In general, the strength of the C–F bondincreases with the extent of adjacent carbonfluorination, and this means that the longer thefluoroalkyl group is, the higher its stability andhydrophobicity.
Out of the list of properties mentioned above,some are bulk properties, e.g., chemical inertness,thermal stability, and lubricity, and some aresurface properties such as oil, dirt and waterrepellence and cleanability. In many coating appli-cations, the bulk properties of fluoro polymers suchas chemical and thermal resistance are the desiredproperties. In these cases, the use of large quantities
ARTICLE IN PRESS
H
H
Li
Li
O
OH
OH
H
H
H H
HH
O OH
OH
Y
X
2 n-BuLi
I
IH2O,
o-C2B10H12
o-carborane m-carborane p-carborane
IH2O,
represents Carbon atom
I
Ullmann type
coupling
B10H10
HC CH
B10H10
C C
COOHHOOC
B10H10
C C
R'
O
O
R
acrylol and methacrylol derivative
R = H or Me
B10H10
C CCO2
HOOC COOH
Diaryl-o –carboranes
Scheme 41. Structure of caroranes and their derivatives [391,432,433,435].
of fluorine throughout the coating is necessary.However, thermoset PU coatings have adequatechemical and thermal resistance and the use offluorine-containing monomers and polymers is nota cost-effective alternative approach for structuralmodification. Therefore, obtaining the repellencyand cleanability of a fluoropolymer would bedesired with a less cost. In these cases, the surfaceproperty improvement by introducing fluorine willtailor the coating for using in aggressive environ-ment and formulator do not need to use systemsthat have fluorinated groups throughout the bulk ofthe film. In fact, excess fluorine content throughoutthe film decreases the adhesive strength at the metal/polymer interface [454].
Incorporation of fluorine into the polymer mainchain or its side chains are well known methods thatlead to large changes in the surface properties. Thisis due to the segregation of fluorinated chainstoward the polymer–air interface, which results in aconsiderable decrease in the surface energy. PU is
one material that would benefit from the character-istic properties of fluorinated polymers, as men-tioned above. The effect of fluorine-containing PUson their properties has been described [455–459].Fluorocarbon chains have been incorporated intoPUs via fluoro-containing isocyanates [460], CEs[455–459] or SSs [461–463]. Yoon and Ratner[455–457] and Yoon et al. [458,459] synthesized aseries of fluorine-containing aromatic PUs usingvarious perfluoro CEs. They studied the surface andbulk structure of the synthesized PUs. Ho andWynne [461] and Honeychuck et al. [462] preparedfluorinated PUs based on a series of fluorinateddiols to obtain surfaces with minimum adhesion.
The largest part of the scientific contributionsrefers to the use of short fluorinated CEs. Thesediols, because of their low MW, do not show anytendency to self-segregate from the hydrogenatedmoiety. Consequently, these materials presentneither improved elastomeric properties nor fluorineenrichment to the surface. Completely different
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Scheme 42. A third generation hyperbranched polyester polyol
from the functionalized m-carboranes [437]. Reproduced from
Parrott MC, Marchington EB, Valliant JF and Adronov A by
results can be achieved if a poly(fluoro-oxyalkylene)diol having a relatively high MW is used [464–468].Functional perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) are knownas intermediates for the preparation of highperformance coatings [447]. Due to the extremelylow viscosity [469], PFPE reactive oligomers havingmolecular weight about 1000 allow the obtainmentof really high solid formulations reaching80–90wt% of solid content.
In particular, Fomblins ZDOL PFPE have anumber of peculiar properties such as extremely lowTg, low viscosity, excellent thermal and UV-lightstability, insolubility, minimum surface energy.Among them, a family of PFPE OH-functionalizedoligomers is currently industrially available and are[470]:
HOCH2CF2ðOCF2CF2ÞpðOCF2ÞqOCF2CH2OH;
with p=q ¼ 1� 2:2; Mn ¼ 500� 4000.
ZDOL is produced in the oligomeric molecularweight range and it is a low viscosity, high densityliquid at ambient temperature. While higher mole-cular weights are used for the preparation ofthermoplastic or thermoset elastomers, lower oligo-mers (Mn around 1000) are suitable for thepreparation of polyfunctional resins for coatings(commercial name Florobases Z). Scheme 43 shows
the industrially used method for the preparation ofFomblin Z-functional derivatives.
Di and polyfunctional PFPE-based resins (Fluor-obases Z) were recently developed exploiting theabove-mentioned positive features [447]. Severalproperties of this new class of materials have beendescribed [447], including electrochemical impe-dance for TiO2-pigmented coatings [472]. Studieshave focused on both crosslinked and linear PUsobtained by a full replacement of the hydrogenatedsoft macromer by a PFPE segment. These studiesdemonstrated that PFPE-containing PUs offer alarger service temperature range than conventionalPUs, combined with superior chemical resistance andsurface characteristics [66,452]. Therefore, PFPE-based PUs offers significant advantages in applica-tions where unusual bulk and surface properties arerequired. In fact, this approach allows one to designnew structures depending on the extent of fluorinemodification and can maintain most of the out-standing properties of the fluorinated macrodiols.
Delucchi et al. [473] compared the effect of thechain length of the fluoroether macromer on theproperties of PUs prepared from HDI polyisocya-nurate and IPDI polyisocyanurate. The use of morepolydisperse fluoropolyether samples, or bimodalMWDs with significant tails of low oligomers, cangive an optimized balance to the desired set of finalperformances. In another report, Delucchi et al.[474] used ZDOL of molecular weight 500 or 1000and prepared NCO-terminated resins by reactingwith HDI polyisocyanurates. The resins were cross-linked as moisture-cured formulations. Tonelli et al.[475] used a three-step process to reduce thehomopolymerization tendency due to the strongincompatibility between the hydrogenated andfluorinated macrodiol. They prepared a hydroge-nated –NCO-capped prepolymer from the conven-tional PTMG macrodiol and MDI, and thereaftera defined amount of fluorinated macrodiolH(OCH2CH2)nOCH2CF2O(CF2CF2O)p(CF2O)qCF2
CH2O(CH2CH2O)nH was added and continued thereaction. In the third step, 1,4-butanediol was addedas a CE to complete the unreacted NCO reactionand shown that small amount of fluorine contentin the range 3.3–15.8% w/w in the PUs producedunique characteristics. The surface propertieswere close to those expected for fluorine-richmaterials, particularly in terms of improved chemi-cal resistance, a reduced coefficient of friction andan easier phase segregation property than conven-tional PUs.
.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
F
F
F
F
+ O2
UV light
60oC
inert solvent
AO(CF2CF2O)m(CF2CF2OO)n(CF2OO)r(CF2O)sB
(A, B = CF3, COF,CF2COF,CF2Cl,CF2CF2Cl)
reducing agent solvent
CH3O2CCF2O(CF2CF2O)P(CF2O)qCF2CO2CH3
ZDEAL
NaBH4HOH2CCF2O(CF2CF2O)P(CF2O)qCF2CH2OH
ZDOL
Scheme 43. Industrial synthesis of Fomblin Z functional derivatives [471]. Reproduced from Turri S, Scicchitano M, Simeone G and
The incompatibility of ZDOL with hydrogenatedco-reagents and its reactivity difference with hydro-genated polyols motivated Turri et al. [471] to use atwo-step synthesis, in which PFPE-NCO-cappedoligomers from IPDI were prepared first, whichsubsequently chain extended with trimethylol pro-pane (TMP). In their study polyester polyols werealso synthesized from ZDOL, aliphatic anhydridesand TMP/neopentyl glycol.
Tonelli et al. [452] described the synthesis ofmodel PFPE-based resins from the etherificationreactions of ZDOL. The easiest way involves a basecatalyzed etherification with glycidol to give a tetra-ol oligomer bearing both primary and secondaryhydroxyls groups (TOL):
HOCH2CHðOHÞCH2OCH2CF2O
ðCF2CF2OÞpðCF2OÞqCF2CH2OCH2CHðOHÞCH2OH
Mixtures of ZDOL and TOL give resins char-acterized by an OH functionality ranging from2 to 4, thus allowing adjusting the crosslink den-sity of the final film. Etherification of ZDOL witha,o -dibromoalkanes followed by polyfunctionali-zation with diethyl malonate and final chemicalreduction produce tetra-functional resins bearingprimary hydroxyls (more reactive) exclusively. Thereactivity of hydroxyl function in ZDOL is affectedby neighboring perfluorinated electron-withdrawingchains, which causes an acidity of the O–H bond.Compatibility with free NCO-containing crosslin-kers is achieved when urethane prepolymers likeTMP-IPDI or TMP-TDI adducts are used insteadof the less polar cyclic trimers of HDI or IPDI. Hoand Wynne [461] prepared a fluorinated diol shownin Scheme 44, which was reacted with equimolarportion of HDI for making PU coatings forpreventing settlement of organisms.
Kim et al. [476] used fluorinated oxetane polyol(F-polyol: Scheme 45) for partial replacement ofpolyhexamethylene carbonate (PHMC) polyol SS inMDI-based PU-containing BDO CE. They exam-ined the effect of fluorine content on the frictioncoefficient. The dependence of the surface fluorineconcentration upon the friction coefficient is dis-played in Fig. 4. The setup for evaluating frictionbehavior was based on the ASTM D1894 methodand surface fluorine at% was obtained from XPSresults.
Recent technological advances in polymer designhave resulted in overcoming of traditional fluor-ocarbon polymers limitations, giving rise to a newgeneration of PFPE-based resins that are soluble incommon organic solvents, curable at room as wellhigh temperatures and have increased compatibilitywith curing agents.
At this point, we have described the designrequirements for improving the surface propertiesof PU and as a summary, a few principal designrules are: (a) The fluorine should be in the form ofCF3-terminated fluoroalkyl groups as opposed toCF2 chains. The surface energy of a CF2 surface(PTFE: teflon) is 19 dyn/cm, whereas the surfaceenergy of a close-packed fluoroalkyl surface can beless than 10 dyn/cm. The lower we can make thesurface energy, the lower the work of adhesion ofthe contaminants; (b) Fluoroalkyl groups in thebinder should be at the surface; if they are not at thesurface then they cannot improve the surfaceproperties; (c) The fluoroalkyl groups should becontained in the continuous phase in order to coverthe entire surface of the coating. The contrastingcase is the PTFE powder filled coating where thefluorochemical is in a separate phase and cannotmodify the surface energy of the continuous resinphase. If fluoroalkyl groups phase-separate, then
ARTICLE IN PRESS
I(CF2)4IF
FF
FF
F
I(CF3CFCF2)x(CF2)4(CF3CFCF2)yI
H
HH
H
IC2H4(CF3CFCF2)x(CF2)4(CF3CFCF2)yC2H4IH2SO4. SO3
HOC2H4(CF3CFCF2)x(CF2)4(CF3CFCF2)yC2H4OH
Scheme 44. Synthetic route of fluorinated diol used by Ho andWynne [461]. Reproduced from Ho T. and Wynne K.J. by permission from
American Chemical Society.
HO
O
F3C
OH
n
Scheme 45. Chemical structure of fluorinated oxetane polyol
(F-polyol) [476].
Fig. 4. Dependence of the surface fluorine content on kinetic
friction coefficients of solution polymerized PU elastomer [476].
Reprinted with permission from Elsevier B.V., Copyright 2002.
different phase could introduce haze to the final film[454].
Keeping in mind the thermodynamic drivingforce for the fluoroalkyl groups promotes theirmigration to the surface of the coating, the designer
should aim to create a binder where this migration iskinetically allowed, and should understand themechanism of surface segregation behavior offluoroalkyl groups and their attachment towardssurface during cure reaction of the coating [454].This behavior may indicate or generate a prefer-ential enrichment of urethane groups at the primer/topcoat interphase and of fluorinated chains at thecoating/air interphase.
6. Conclusions
In the past decade, novel ways of material designof PU coatings have grown rapidly from thecontribution of polymer and coatings research inacademic and industrial laboratories, product de-velopers and corrosion engineers. The broadeningin knowledge of materials derived from HBPs withreactive terminals and nanoscience/nanotechnologyis already leading to useful products at theconsumer level. The steps forward towards thestructural engineering of coatings arises fromthe idea of being able control or enhance thecoating durability and properties by tailoring themacromolecular architecture with specific recogni-tion and binding sites (building block functionaliza-tion) that may lead to the enhancement in propertiesat a reasonable cost. In a new perspective,carefully controlled and highly localized structuralvariation can be considered as an importantand useful element of system design. Low VOCcoatings and films with previously non-achievableproperties can now be produced due to theinnovation of a new class of macromoleculararchitecture, called HBPs and nanotechnologyrevolution. These booms have created the abilityto design and produce, model and surface functio-nalize nanosystems of many shapes and properties
that will allow fabricating new types of coatingswith novel properties.
Research efforts in the 1980s were devotedtowards thermoset coatings to achieve high perfor-mance at a minimum VOC level. During the pastdecade, the desire to develop high performance eco-friendly coatings at a reasonable cost and compe-titive market has made the manufacturers of coat-ings and researchers to reinvent novel ways ofdesigning macromolecular architecture by functio-nalization or modifying from the core to peripheryof a hyperbranched structure by end capping,terminal grafting, surface growing and hypergraft-ing to achieve tailor-made properties. Research isnow focused on the means to incorporate hyper-branched structure into a thermoset for furtherimprovement in solid content, thermal stability anddurability of the coatings. Though the aspect offunctionalization and application of hyperbranchedstructure in coatings is still in its early stages, in thenear future, more and more interesting materialsand structures based on HBPs will be successfullydeveloped for incorporation into coatings.
In the context of nanostructuring, it should beacknowledged that nanotechnology is not new.Unknowingly, nanoparticles have been used incoatings from the older methods using sol–gelprocessing. The research towards developing novelmaterials with nanostructures and the outcomingreports over the last decade has created the abilityto re-think materials in new ways or to developcoatings with novel and highly desirable properties.Therefore, from an expanding knowledge about thechemistry at the molecular level from these newsciences, it is possible to create new types offunctional systems that can take the best advantageof size-tunable properties of nanosized components.The developing ability to make uniform nanoscalecomponents and to include them in complexmacromolecular structures will allow technologiststo have a new level of control on physical andchemical properties of the components that makeup macroscopic materials.
This review provides an up-to-date summary ofthe syntheses, properties and applications of PUcoatings for high performance applications. Variousmain routes have been successfully used to improvethe performance characteristics have been discussed.This review hopefully will open up new possibilitiesfrom both practical and fundamental view pointsfor paint formulator and researchers to improve theperformance, durability and to understand the
important role of design consideration on coatingproperties.
Acknowledgements
D.K. Chattopadhyay acknowledges UniversityGrants Commission, India for financial support inthe form of a research fellowship. The authors arethankful to Prof. T.M. Aminabhavi of KarnatakaUniversity, India for valuable discussions during thepreparation of this manuscript.
References
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ethanes). Description of a new principle for building up