Syntheses and Characteristics of Urushiol-Based Waterborne UV-Cured Wood Coatings

The manufacture and properties of waterborne UV-cured coatings (WUV coatings) by acetone process based on urushiol for wood finishing were investigated. Firstly, epoxide urushiol (EU) was prepared by reacting urushiol with epichlorohydrin. Secondly, the EU was reacted with acrylic acid to obtain acrylic epoxide urushiol (AEU). Next, the prepolymers were synthesized by the reaction of AEU, 2,2-Bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (DMPA), and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), respectively, using acetone as a solvent. The prepolymers were further neutralized by triethylamine (TEA) to obtain ionomers and dispersed in the water. After removing the acetone by vacuum distillation, the polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) were obtained. Finally, the WUV coatings were performed by adding a photoinitiator (Irgacure 2959). The products in the synthesized processes and the properties of the WUV coatings were examined. The results showed that the EU, AEU, prepolymers, and ionomers could be synthesized stably. The PUDs synthesized by the IPDI and HDI had a similar solid content of 25.2% and 26.2%, and similar pH values of 7.8 and 7.6. However, the IPDI-containing PUD displayed lower viscosity, smaller particle size, and a more even polydispersity index. The IPDI-containing WUV film displayed a higher hardness, gloss, and lightfastness. The HDI-containing WUV film possessed superior impact resistance. Both IPDI-containing and HDI-containing WUV films showed excellent adhesion, bending resistance, and mass retention, and demonstrated a potential for wood finishing.