Toward a Green Synthesis of Polyurethane/(Meth)acrylic Dispersions through Control of Colloidal Characteristics.

Polyurethane (PU)/acrylic waterborne hybrids are an attractive class of materials with wide application possibilities, but their synthesis typically requires significant quantities of solvent which has negative economic and environmental consequences. In this work, solvent-free and surfactant-free polyurethane (PU)/acrylic waterborne hybrids were obtained by synthesizing the PU prepolymer containing carboxylic groups directly in (meth)acrylic monomers that act as solvent. Then, the mixture is dispersed in water; the PU is chain-extended with diamines, and the (meth)acrylic monomers are polymerized.