Abstract
An attempt was made to prepare a series of new oxidised starch cross-linked waterborne polyurethanes (PUs) by reaction between PU prepolymer and oxidised corn starch. All of the samples were characterised by conventional methods, and their physical, mechanical and hydrophobic properties were studied. The results showed that the presence of oxidised starch gave rise to significant differences in the composition and morphology of PUs and affected the mechanical properties of the final products with regard to the pure polymer. Tensile strength of the modified PU film containing 10 wt-% oxidised starch was up to 14·9 MPa, and its water absorption was as low as 4·9%, resulting from the dual effects of the changed morphology and intermolecular cohesion in this system.
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