The most notable features of polyurea are its fast reaction, energy-saving and high efficiency. In order to meet the needs of environmental protection, waterborne polyurea (WPUA) has become a research hotspot. However, the presence of hydrophilic groups in WPUA reduces its solvent resistance, heat resistance and mechanical properties. Therefore, it is necessary and valuable to develop a high-performance WPUA. In this study, epoxy-modified waterborne polyurea (WPUAE) emulsions were prepared using epoxy resin as a modifier. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed that E44 was successfully introduced into the molecular chain of WPUA. The WPUAE was tested for gel fraction, adhesion, contact angle, solvent resistance, tensile properties and thermal stability. The results showed that when the E44 content was 8 wt%, the performance of WPUAE was best, the adhesion of WPUAE coating film was 1.53 MPa, the gel fraction, water contact angle, water absorption, toluene absorption, tensile strength and decomposition temperature were 96.94%, 70.3°, 16.43%, 131.04%, 9.05 MPa and 365 °C, respectively. The results showed that epoxy resin as an emulsion modifier improved the comprehensive properties of WPUA.
Keywords: epoxy resin; mechanical properties; solvent resistance; thermal stability; waterborne polyurea.