2.1 Characterization of polyols from rosin based epoxy resin
2.1.1 FT-IR
FT-IR spectra of the polyols from rosin based epoxy resin were shown in Fig.3. Compared with the spectra of epoxy resin MPE, the characteristic absorption peaks of epoxy group at 908 cm-1 in the spectra of MPP and WMPP polyols disappeared, while the characteristic absorption peaks of hydroxyl group at 3100~3700 cm-1 and C-O at 1040 cm-1 were significantly enhanced. This result indicated that amine group had reacted with epoxy group, and the ternary ring of epoxy group was opened to produce C-OH group. Due to the introduction of N-benzylethanolamine to the structure of MPP polyol, the characteristic peaks of benzene ring in the spectrum of MPP appeared at 1600 cm-1 and 1500 cm-1. The characteristic peak of isocyanate group at 2272 cm-1 completely disappeared in the WMPP spectrum, indicating that the reaction between isocyanate group and hydroxyl group was complete. Due to the formation of urethane, the carbonyl characteristic peak was enhanced at 1700 cm-1, and the amide II band characteristic peak appeared at 1530 cm-1, which was consistent with the structural characteristics of polyurethane formed by the reaction of hydroxyl group and isocyanate group [25]. Other strong absorption peaks in the spectra mainly included 2955 cm-1 methyl stretching vibration absorption peak, 2874 cm-1 methylene stretching vibration absorption peak, 1716 cm-1 carbonyl stretching vibration absorption peak of ester bond, 1456 cm-1 methylene bending vibration absorption peak, 1380 cm-1 methyl bending vibration absorption peak, 1240 cm-1 and 1165 cm-1 -C-O-C stretching vibration absorption peak of ester bond.
2.1.2 NMR
Fig. 4 (a) showed the 1H-NMR spectra of rosin based epoxy resin (MPE) and its polyol product (MPP). Compared with the spectrum of MPE, the chemical shift of methylene hydrogen of epoxy group at δ 4.32 disappeared in MPP spectrum. After the ring-opening addition reaction between epoxy group and amine group, the chemical shift of this methylene hydrogen moved to high field and appeared at δ 2.05 in MPP spectrum. The chemical shift at δ 7.26 was the characteristic peak of hydrogen on the carbon-carbon double bond in the rosin ring in MPE spectrum, and this peak was significantly enhanced in the MPP spectrum. Because after the addition of N-benzylethanolamine, the benzene ring was introduced into the MPP structure, leading to the increase of the hydrogen on the carbon-carbon double bond.
Fig. 4 (b) showed the 13C-NMR spectra of MPE and MPP. Compared with the spectrum of MPE, the chemical shift of secondary carbon and tertiary carbon of epoxy group at δ 44.6 and δ 49.8 disappeared in MPP spectrum [26]. After the ring opening addition reaction of epoxy group and amino group, the chemical shifts of the two carbons moved to the low field and appeared at δ 55.9 and δ 66.8, respectively. The characteristic peaks of C-N and benzene ring in the N-benzylethanolamine appeared at δ 59.3 and δ 127.9, respectively.
2.2 Particle size analysis of the dispersion
The particle size distribution of polyol dispersion affects the storage stability and film-forming properties of 2K-WPU [9].The particle size distribution of WMPP dispersion was compared with that of commercial acrylic polyol dispersion (Antkote® 2703). As shown in Fig. 5, the particle size distributions of the two polyol dispersions were almost the same, with particle size distribution range of 40-250 nm and average particle size about 100 nm. Both of them had good storage stability and film-forming ability.
2.3 Crosslinking reaction of the polyols
The variation of storage modulus during the crosslinking reaction of polyol dispersions was investigated by rotating rheometer (Fig. 6). During the crosslinking reaction of WMPP and Antkote®2703, the storage modulus increased first and then decreased with an increase of temperature. In the initial stage of heating up, the crosslinking reaction rate accelerates and the crosslinking density of the crosslinked product increased with an increase of temperature. When the crosslinking reaction completed, the storage modulus of the crosslinked product reached the maximum. Then when the temperature continued to rise, the polymers turned from glass to rubber state, and the storage modulus decreased sharply. In contrast with that of Antkote®2703, the storage modulus of WMPP increased rapidly in the crosslinking stage, which indicated that the crosslinking reaction activity of WMPP was higher than that of the ordinary hydroxyacrylic polyols. Because the tertiary amine group introduced into the WMPP structure could catalyze the reaction between hydroxyl and isocyanate group and improve the crosslinking reaction rate [27].
2.4 Kinetics of the crosslinking reaction of the polyols
According to Arrhenius formula, the reaction rate constant has an exponential relationship with activation energy (Ea). Low Ea value of crosslinking reaction is conducive to increasing the reaction rate constant and accelerating the reaction speed. A large number of reaction models have been developed for the polymerization of thermosetting resin [28], among which Kissinger and Friedman are two classical methods to calculate Ea. Both of them can calculate Ea value through equation without specific model.
Kissinger method is based on the following two assumptions [29]: (1) the exothermic peak temperature TP changes with the heating rate; (2) Maximum reaction rate dα/dt occurs at the peak temperature. Equation can be expressed as Equation 1.

Where β is the heating rate, TP is the peak temperature of DSC curves, A is the pre exponential factor, and R is the gas constant (8.314 J/mol K).
Linear regression curve of ln(β/Tp2) vs 1/Tp was calculated by least square method (Fig. 7). Ea of crosslinking reaction could be calculated from the slope of the curve.
Table 1 Tp of the DSC curves and Ea obtained by Kissinger method
samples
|
|
Tp (K)
|
Ea (kJ/mol)
|
R2
|
5 K/min
|
10 K/min
|
15 K/min
|
20 K/min
|
WMPP
|
361.96
|
373.64
|
380.75
|
387.92
|
69.43
|
0.9999
|
Antkote® 2703
|
372.14
|
382.91
|
389.19
|
395.85
|
79.38
|
0.9999
|
Table 1 listed Tp of the DSC exothermic curves of WMPP dispersion and Antkote®2703 crosslinked with polyisocyanate at different heating rates and Ea calculated by Kissinger equation. Tp increased with an increase of heating rate. Because the reaction time to the same temperature was shortened with an increase of heating rate, resulting in the incompleteness of crosslinking reaction and the hysteresis of Tp. This hysteresis showed that Tp moved towards high temperature. Ea of crosslinking reaction of WMPP dispersion calculated by Kissinger equation was lower than that of Antkote®2703, indicating that the crosslinking reaction rate of WMPP dispersion was faster than that of commercial product Antkote®2703. Because WMPP could auto-catalyze the crosslinking reaction between hydroxyl group and isocyanate group.
Kissinger method is a model free method, but it assumes that Ea is constant with the change of reaction transformation process. In fact, Ea will change with the progress of crosslinking reaction. Ea measured by the equal conversion method can overcome the shortcomings of Kissinger method. The average value is obtained from Ea at different conversion rates measured by equal conversion method. Friedman method is the most common differential equal conversion method in kinetic analysis, evaluating Ea as a function of conversion (α) [30]. According to Friedman's method, Ea is determined by the logarithmic form of the kinetic reaction rate (Equation 2).

By integrating the area under the exothermic peak of DSC exothermic curves at different heating rates, the relation curves of the crosslinking conversion (α) vs temperature (T) and α vs time (t) were obtained. From the α-t curves (Fig. 8), it could be seen intuitively that the crosslinking reaction rate of WNPP containing tertiary amine group was significantly faster than that of Antkote®2703 whether at 5 ℃/min or at 20 ℃/min.
The crosslinking reaction rate dα/dt can be obtained by differentiating the α-t curve. Assuming that dα/dt is a function of α and T, ln(dα/dt) can be described by Equation (2). Then ln(dα/dt) and 1/T with the same α on DSC curves at different heating rates can be approximately fitted into a straight line with a slope of –Ea/R (Fig. 9). Repeat this process to obtain Ea at different α, and then calculate the average value to obtain the activation energy of crosslinking reaction [31].
Table 2 Ea (kJ/mol) obtained from Friedman method
Samples
|
|
α
|
|
Average
|
0.1
|
0.2
|
0.3
|
0.4
|
0.5
|
0.6
|
0.7
|
0.8
|
0.9
|
WMPP
|
59.65
|
59.25
|
58.63
|
58.44
|
57.82
|
57.52
|
58.09
|
59.79
|
64.30
|
59.28
|
Antkote® 2703
|
63.02
|
60.19
|
61.61
|
61.80
|
61.72
|
62.65
|
63.75
|
66.98
|
73.53
|
63.92
|
Ea values at different conversion of crosslinking reaction calculated by Friedman method were shown in Table 2. Ea decreased first and then increased during the conversion ranging from 0.1 to 0.9. Carbamate (-NH-CO-O-) which formed from the reaction between -NCO group and -OH group can catalyze the reaction between -NCO group and -OH group [32]. With the process of crosslinking reaction, the content of carbamate group increased gradually, and the catalytic effect was more obvious. This effect made Ea decrease with an increase of α. On the other hand, with the process of crosslinking reaction, the active functional groups (-NCO group and -OH group) in the crosslinking matrix gradually consumed, and the crosslinked network gradually formed. The unreacted active groups were trapped in the crosslinked network. More activation energy was needed to overcome the larger steric effect in order to continue the reaction. This effect resulted to an increase of Ea with an increase of α. The above two opposite factors worked together causing Ea value of the crosslinking reaction to decrease first and then increase with an increase of α. Ea of the crosslinking reaction of WMPP dispersion calculated by Friedman method was smaller than that of Antkote® 2703 dispersion, which was consistent with the result obtained by Kissinger method.
2.5 Thermal Properties of the crosslinked products
The DSC curves of the crosslinked products were shown in Fig. 10(a). The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the crosslinked product of WMPP dispersion was slightly higher than that of the crosslinked product of Antkote® 2703 dispersions. The hydroxyl group contents of WMPP and Antkote® 2703 were almost the same, but the chemical structure of WMPP contained rosin alicyclic rings, which increased the rigidity of the molecular chain and improved the Tg of the crosslinked product.
Fig. 10(b) showed the thermogravimetric analysis curves of the crosslinked product. The thermogravimetric curves of the crosslinked products of WMPP and Antkote® 2703 were typical thermal degradation curves of polyurethane [33]. There were two rapid thermal degradation stages. The first rapid degradation stage was the thermal decomposition of C-N bond in polyurethane, because the bond energy of C-N bond is smaller than those of C-C bond and C-O bond [34]. The second rapid degradation stage was the thermal decomposition of C-C and C-O bond in polyurethane. In the first thermal degradation stage, the thermal stability of the crosslinked product of WMPP was significantly worse than that of the crosslinked product of Antkote® 2703. The fastest weight loss temperature of the crosslinked product of WMPP in the first stage was 296 ℃, while the fastest weight loss temperature of the crosslinked product of Antkote® 2703 in the first stage was 353 ℃. Because benzylaminoethanol was introduced into WMPP structure, its crosslinked product had more C-N bond than that of the crosslinked product of Antkote® 2703, resulting in the reduction of thermal stability in the first stage. The carbon residue rate of the crosslinked product of WMPP was slightly higher than that of the crosslinked product of Antkote® 2703, because WMPP contained rosin fused rings structure, and the thermal degradation residue was easier to form dense carbon layer [35].
2.6 DMA of crosslinked products
Fig. 11(a) showed the curves of storage modulus (E') and loss modulus (E″) of the crosslinked products with temperature. When the temperature was lower than the glass transition temperature (Tg), the crosslinked product was in the glass state and the molecular motion energy was low. The rigidity and the storage modulus of the material reached the maximum when the internal chain segment was in a "frozen" state [36]. With an increase of temperature, the motion of molecular segments intensified, and the molecular chains stretched from the curled state. The material showed deformation, and the storage modulus of crosslinked products decreased. Meanwhile, in the initial stage of heating up, the increase of temperature weakened the internal tension of the crosslinked polymer and increased the flexibility of molecular chain. Under the action of external force, the chain segment movement resistance decreased, so the loss modulus decreased. As the temperature continued to rise, the polymer chains obtained enough energy and started to move violently, generating more heat. The mechanical loss occured inside and between the molecular chains, and the loss modulus of the crosslinked products increased gradually. When the temperature was higher than Tg of the crosslinked product, the crosslinked product was in rubber state, and its storage modulus and loss modulus decreased sharply. Before glass transition, the storage modulus and loss modulus of WMPP crosslinked products were higher than those of Antkote® 2703 crosslinked products at the same temperature, because WMPP contained rosin fused rings with strong rigidity and poor flexibility. At the end of glass transition, the storage modulus and loss modulus of WMPP crosslinked products were lower than those of Antkote® 2703 crosslinked products under the same temperature, because the hydroxyl arrangement in Antkote® 2703 obtained by free radical polymerization was more regular than WMPP, and the regular crosslinked network slowed the chain segment movement of the crosslinked products after glass transition [37]. The decrease of storage modulus and loss modulus was not as sharp as that of WMPP crosslinked products.
Fig. 11(b) showed the loss factor (Tan δ)of the crosslinked product. DMA defines the temperature range of Tan δ as the glass transition zone. There is α relaxation process in this temperature range, which is caused by the thermal softening of the chain segments in the amorphous region of the polymer and the micro Brownian motion of the polymer molecules [38]. Tg (68 ℃) of the WMPP crosslinked product obtained by DMA was slightly higher than that of the Antkote® 2703 crosslinked product (66 ℃), and this result was consistent with that obtained by DSC. The dispersity of chain segment motion affects the width of Tan δ peak. Large dispersity of segment motion leads to wide peak of Tan δ, indicating the chain segments have poor regularity and long relaxation process [37]. The width of Tan δ peak of Antkote® 2703 crosslinked product was narrower than that of WMPP crosslinked product, which also indicated the crosslinked network of Antkote® 2703 was more regular.
2.7 Film properties of the 2K-WPUs
Table 3 Properties of the films from 2K-WPUs
Items
|
WMPP
|
Antkote® 2703
|
Gloss(60o)1)
|
0h
|
94
|
85
|
3h
|
90
|
81
|
4h
|
83
|
79
|
Adhesion (grade)
|
0
|
0
|
Pencil hardness
|
2H
|
H-2H
|
Flexibility(mm)
|
0.5
|
0.5
|
Blocking resistance,MM
|
A-0
|
A-0
|
Transparency 2)
|
5
|
4
|
Fullness 2)
|
5
|
4
|
Water resistance(24 h)
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Alcohol resistance(50 % alcohol,1 h)
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Alkali resistance(50 g/L NaHCO3,1 h)
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Resistant to red wine(1 h)
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Vinegar resistance(1 h)
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Tea resistance(1 h)
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Note:1)gross at different pot life; 2)“5” represents the best, “1” represents the worst.
The film properties of WMPP crosslinked product and Antkote® 2703 crosslinked product were listed in Table 3. The results showed that the film from WMPP had excellent impact strength, adhesion, flexibility, hardness, gloss, fullness and liquid medium resistance, as a result of the introduction of rosin based epoxy resin into two-component waterborne polyurethane coatings. The hardness, transparency, gloss and fullness of the film prepared from WMPP were better than those of the film from the common commercial Antkote® 2703. The high performance of the film from WMPP was almost the same as that of the solvent based two-component polyurethane [39]. Because the rosin fused rings introduced into the polyurethane main structure improved the hardness, fullness and gloss of the crosslinked film.