A reactive hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethane (HEUR) associative polymer bearing benzophenone terminal groups: Synthesis, thickening and photo-initiating reactivity

Abstract Hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethanes (HEURs), as a representative class of associative polymers, are widely used as rheology modifiers in waterborne systems such as coatings, emulsions, inks etc. due to their unique associative network structure and finite relaxation behavior in solution. However, conventional HEURs are non-reactive and generally stay free in final cured films, which may induce some damages to the performance of the coatings. To solve the problem, a new concept of reactive HEUR has been proposed. That is, a reactive HEUR should bear reactive hydrophobic end-groups which can chemically crosslink with matrix resins during the curing process of waterborne coatings. In this work, with the help of the hydrogen abstraction photo-initiating reactivity of benzophenone (BP) group, a reactive HEUR (BPC 11 HEUR) end-functionalized by a photo-initiator BP moiety has been prepared. In aqueous solution, as demonstrated by steady shear measurement, an exponential increment of solution viscosity along with the increasing of polymer concentration ( C ) was found when C surpassed its critical percolation concentration ( C p ≈ 23.6 g/L). Besides, ultraviolet (UV) light induced photolysis in aqueous solution manifested a typical photochemical reaction behavior of BPC 11 HEUR polymer with a final photolysis degree ( D ) of approximate 78% after 300 s of irradiation. In situ 1 H NMR and rheological measurements collectively revealed the efficient photo-initiating reactivity of BPC 11 HEUR for waterborne UV monomers or resins. Further, rheological measurements demonstrated that the emulsion zero/low shear viscosity can be greatly enhanced by ca. 50 folds for a commercially available waterborne UV polyurethane acrylate emulsion when the addition amount of BPC 11 HEUR varied from 0 to 1.0 wt%. These results shown that the reactive BPC 11 HEUR polymer can not only be used to efficiently modify the rheological properties of solutions or emulsions but also can chemically crosslink with waterborne UV acrylic monomers or resins by light irradiation. The work may be of interest for development of reactive HEURs used in waterborne UV coatings, inks, and adhesives, etc.