Polyvinyl acetate and polyurethane-vinyl acetate hybrid emulsion: synthesis, characterization and properties

Here, the idea is to synthesize polyvinyl acetate (PVAc)/waterborne polyurethane-based (WPU) hybrid IPN network. The polyvinyl acetate emulsion (PVAc) and vinyl acetate/water-based polyurethane hybrid emulsions were successfully prepared in this research work. The weight percentage of polyurethane components was varied to synthesize emulsions with different properties. Two distinctly designed emulsion’s properties were studied using different characterization techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclei magnetic resonance (NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical and thermal analysis (DMTA) to evaluate emulsion properties. The properties of PVAc and hybrid emulsions were checked, and their relative average molecular weights were determined by GPC. Also, their particle size distribution and zeta potential were performed to analyze the hybrid emulsion’s average volume distribution and stability. Thermomechanical and mechanical properties such as damping factor, storage modulus, loss modulus, tensile strength, and lap shear strength were correlated with the loading of WPU in PVAc emulsion to form a physical crosslinked network. The result showed a minimal change in the thermal response of hybrid emulsion properties but an improvement in lap shear strength was observed in hybrid emulsion compared with PVAc emulsion. Graphical abstract