Polyurethane dispersions with low impact on interior emissions

 
Growing use of waterborne technology is contributing to the reduction of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from coatings and adhesives during the application phase. In recent years, the interest of stake-holders is shifting towards emissions in the use phase. Automotive interiors, before all due to higher temperatures e.g. in summer time, receive special focus ranging from analytically detectable emissions up to odor testing protocols by human test panels. We report on investigations into raw materials for waterborne polyurethane based coatings and adhesives with reduced impact on automotive interior emissions. Strategies include substitution of certain constituents contributing significantly to emissions, finding and selecting reaction conditions that reduce or avoid formation of unwanted side products, purifying key polymer building-blocks as well as introducing absorbing functionalities for critical trace amounts.