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Novel waterborne poly(urethane‐urea)/silica nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Špírková Milena,
Pavličević Jelena,
Aguilar Costumbre Yareni,
Hodan Jiří,
Krejčíková Sabina,
Brožová Libuše
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.25690
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , composite material , ultimate tensile strength , ceramic , dispersion (optics) , elongation , physics , optics
A series of novel transparent mechanically strong waterborne poly(urethane‐urea)/silica nanocomposites were prepared by mixing a waterborne poly(urethane‐urea) dispersion with aqueous nanosilica, followed by slow water evaporation. This procedure is simple, environmentally friendly and energetically undemanding. The silica content in the nanocomposite film varied from 0 to 50 wt%. Based on changes of tensile characteristics, for example, Young's modulus values, three types of behavior were observed: typical elastic (0‐10 wt%), plastic (30 wt%) and ceramic‐like (50 wt% silica) materials can be prepared. However, some films feature both elastic and plastic (material with 20 wt% silica) or plastic and ceramic‐like characteristics (material with 40 wt% silica). The Young's modulus varied from 6 to 705 MPa, and the maximal tensile strength and elongation‐at‐break were 17.3 MPa and 1270%, respectively. The maximum energy‐to‐break, 60 mJ mm −3 , was achieved for the film containing 30 wt% silica. All these materials can potentially be used as soft‐to‐hard topcoats, depending on the specific demands.