Synthesis and properties of poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based non-isocyanate polyurethanes coatings with good anti-smudge properties

In this work, a novel fluorine-free anti-smudge non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPU) coating system was developed by using pentaerythritol glycidyl ether-based cyclic carbonate (PGC)/ single-end cyclic carbonate poly (dimethysiloxane) (PDMS-C) and ethylene imine polymer (PEI). The PDMS-C was used as a liquid-repellent agent to endow NIPU coatings with low surface energy and PEI as curing agent to form high crosslinking density in the NIPU coating matrix. The surface roughness of NIPU film with 0.5 wt% PDMS-C was only 0.387 nm as well as the optical transmittance of the film was more than 98.5%. It also found that NIPU coatings with 0.5 wt% PDMS-C exhibited striking liquid (hexadecane, pump oil, water, milk, corn oil, fingerprint fluid and cola) repellency, and the dust could slide down with water, and there are no residual traces of dust and water on the surface of the coating, indicating the NIPU coatings displayed excellent self-cleaning performance. Besides, these NIPU coatings showed striking inhibit ink deposition, they could maintain anti-ink performance after 5000 abrasion cycles, indicating the NIPU coatings possessed excellent mechanical properties and practical application availability.