Bio-based cationic waterborne polyurethanes dispersions prepared from different vegetable oils

In this study, a series of bio-based polyols were prepared from olive, castor, corn, canola, rice bran, grape seed and linseed oil by thiol-ene photo-click reaction. The relationship between carbon-carbon double bonds in the backbone of vegetable oil fatty acid chains and the functionalities of the polyols was elucidated. The advantage and disadvantage between thiol-ene photo-click reaction and traditional methods for vegetable oil based polyols are summarized and compared. These bio-based polyols were used to prepare cationic waterborne polyurethane dispersions. With the increase of the vegetable oil based polyols’ hydroxyl values, the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, T g , water contact angle of the waterborne polyurethane films increase from 1 to 11 MPa, 10 to 395 MPa, 23 to 50 °C and 38˚ to 46˚, respectively, but the elongation at break and thermal stability of them decrease. Thiol-ene photo-click reaction offers a bio-based platform to create a variety of waterborne polyurethanes that promises economic and environmental benefits.