Synthesis of Trivinylisooctyl POSS and Its Application in UV-Curing of Polyurethane Acrylate Coatings

To improve the overall performance of polyurethane acrylic (PUAs) coatings applied to an iron or wood substrate, a modifier, trivinylisooctyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (TVi(7iso)-POSS), was successfully synthesized by a polycondensation reaction in the presence of an organotin catalyst. TVi(7iso)-POSS is a POSS derivative possessing three olefin and seven isooctyl bonds; its molecular structure was confirmed by FT-IR, H-1-NMR, and mass spectrometry. The synthesized TVi(7iso)-POSS was then used as a modifier with butyl methacrylate (BMA), dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate (DFMA), difunctional PUA (PUA-2), and photo-initiator 1173 to produce a novel polyurethane coating (PFMPUAs) via UV-curing. The performance of the obtained PFMPUAs coating was analyzed via X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, SEM, atomic force microscopy, TGA, and differential scanning calorimetry. The newly synthesized modifier, TVi(7iso)-POSS, enhanced the thermal stability, hardness, flexibility, impact resistance, and adhesion of the PUAs coating and maintained its good light transmittance. Moreover, the PFMPUAs coating exhibited better overall performance compared to the previously studied PUAs coating when the addition of TVi(7iso)-POSS and DFMA was 15 wt.% of PUA-2. Therefore, the PFMPUAs coating has potential applications in the field of environmentally friendly coatings.