Preparation of nanomaterials and their applications in leather finishing

Abstract

Leather industry is one of the most pollutant industries in the world. It produces all types of environmental pollution especially in finishing step which uses organic hazards solvents. In order to minimize the environmental impact in leather industry, water-based recipes are proposed in leather finishing. The application of an acrylic emulsion as a top coat system provides an excellent balance of safety, performance and commerciality in comparison with other coats. An acrylic resin nano-size latex whose colloidal particle size is about 23 nm with solids content of about 25% was prepared by copolymerization of MMA and 2-EHA at different monomer ratios via microemulsion polymerization technique It was found that (MMA: 2-EHA) (2:1) was the best prepared copolymer so it was modified with different ratios of silicon dioxide nanoparticles, then studied the properties of the acrylic films and applied onto leather. The physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of coated leather before and after silicon dioxide nanoparticles application were evaluated and discussed. The second part was preparation of water-based polyurethane and its modification with different ratios of silicon dioxide nanoparticles then applied onto leather surface. Evaluation of these leather samples before and after coating through physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties.