Two types of crosslinking agents blocked polyurethanes were synthesized and evaluated as tanning agents of bovine skins. The results of the synthesis of aqueous dispersions of blocked polyurethane (DPU’s) are presented. They were based on prepolymers from the reaction of the aliphatic diisocyanates H12MDI 4,4’-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate) and HDI (hexamethylene diisocyanate) with HO-polyols such as polyethylene oxide of molecular weight 1 and 2 kDa. The molar NCO/OH ratio was fixed in 4:1 or 6:1, at 100 °C and 2 or 4 hours for the reaction time. In a second reaction, the prepolymer containing terminal NCO groups were blocked by reaction with an aqueous NaHSO3 or Na2S2O5 solution to 40% w/w. The obtained prepolymers were characterized by IR and ¹H NMR. The % of free isocyanate (NCO) in the prepolymer as well as the blockade of these groups were determined by IR. The evaluation of the tanning capacity of the DPU’s was determined according to the thermal stability of the skin (thermal denaturalization), through the differential scanning calorimetry analysis (DSC). The index of crosslinking of the DPU’s with the collagen of the skin was determined with the nynhidrin essay.
Aqueous dispersions of blocked polyurethane (DPU’s); tanning agents; crosslinking
