Improvement of Mechanical Properties and Solvent Resistance of Polyurethane Coating by Chemical Grafting of Graphene Oxide

Guotao Liang; Fengbiao Yao; Yanran Qi; Ruizhi Gong; Rui Li; Baoxuan Liu; Yueying Zhao; Chenglong Lian; Luming Li; Xiaoying Dong; Yongfeng Li

doi:10.3390/polym15040882

Improvement of Mechanical Properties and Solvent Resistance of Polyurethane Coating by Chemical Grafting of Graphene Oxide

Polymers (Basel). 2023 Feb 10;15(4):882. doi: 10.3390/polym15040882.

Authors

Guotao Liang¹, Fengbiao Yao¹, Yanran Qi¹, Ruizhi Gong¹, Rui Li², Baoxuan Liu³, Yueying Zhao⁴, Chenglong Lian^{1

4}, Luming Li⁵, Xiaoying Dong¹, Yongfeng Li¹

Affiliations

¹ State Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Silviculture in Down-Stream Areas of the Yellow River, College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China.
² School of Automation, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China.
³ Shandong Laucork Development Co., Ltd., Jining 272100, China.
⁴ Postdoctoral Innovation Practice Base, Shandong Xiaguang Group Co., Ltd., Jining 277600, China.
⁵ College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.

Abstract

Waterborne polyurethane coatings (WPU) are widely used in various types of coatings due to their environmental friendliness, rich gloss, and strong adhesion. However, their inferior mechanical properties and solvent resistance limit their application on the surface of wood products. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) with nanoscale size, large surface area, and abundant functional groups was incorporated into WPU by chemical grafting to improve the dispersion of GO in WPU, resulting in excellent mechanical properties and solvent resistance of WPU coatings. GO with abundant oxygen-containing functional groups and nanoscale size was prepared, and maintained good compatibility with WPU. When the GO concentration was 0.7 wt%, the tensile strength of GO-modified WPU coating film increased by 64.89%, and the abrasion resistance and pendulum hardness increased by 28.19% and 15.87%, respectively. In addition, GO also improved the solvent resistance of WPU coatings. The chemical grafting strategy employed in this study provides a feasible way to improve the dispersion of GO in WPU and provides a useful reference for the modification of waterborne wood coatings.

Keywords: chemical graft; chemical resistance; graphene oxide; mechanical performance; waterborne polyurethane; wood coatings.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Project of Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Funder: Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province; Grant No. ZR2021MC095); Project of Shandong Provincial Agricultural Science and Technology Foundation (Forestry Science and Technology) (Funder: Department of Natural Resources of Shandong Province; Grant No. 2019LY008); Science and Technology Support Program for Youth Innovation Team in Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province, China (Funder: Shandong Education Department; Grant No. 2020KJF012); Foundation for the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Funder: Ministry of Science and Technology; Grant No. 2016YFD0600704); Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science & Technology (Northeast Forestry University), Ministry of Education (Funder: Northeast Forestry University; Grant No. SWZ-MS201912); and the Jiangsu Provincial Policy Guidance Program (Special Project of Science and Technology for Northern Jiangsu) (Funder: Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology; Grant No. SZ-SQ2020031).