Synthesis and characterization of waterbornepolyurethane/organic clay nanocomposites

Stable waterborne polyurethane/organic clay latex was synthesized by ultrasonically-assisted mixing with different clay content. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra showed that the interaction between NH and C=O was enhanced with low content organic clay loaded. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results implied that the layered organic clay was exfoliated and the crystallization of the hard domain in the waterborne polyurethane (WPU) matrix was enhanced. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the layered clay was exfoliated by WPU molecule. The tensile test shows that the mechanical properties were improved by loading organic clay and the desired addition was 1 wt.%.