CA1053868A - Microporous sheets and a process for making them - Google Patents

Abstract

MICROPOROUS SHEETS AND A PROCESS
FOR MAKING THEM

Abstract of the Disclosure A method for making microporous sheets is provided wherein a dispersion of a cationic and/or anionic polyurethane is mixed with a solution containing a non-ionic polyurethane and the resulting mixture is coagulated with a non-solvent for the non-ionic polyurethane.

Description

- -~ Mo-1458-DIV-Ca.
LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca.

MICROPOROUS SHEETS AND A PROCESS
FOR ~AKING THRM

This application is a division of my copending application Serial Number 207,232, filed August 16, 1974.

This invention relates to a process for producing microporous sheets by coagulating polyurethane or polyurea solutions.

Numerous processes are already known for producing coatings, which are permeable to water vapor, from solutions, (e.g. in dimethylformamide), of polyurethanes by coagulating the solutions with non-solvents (e.g. water). In these processes, the desir~d microporous structure of the polymers is achieved by observing strictly laid down conditions during the coagu-lation process.

The use of polyurethane or polyurethane urea solu-tions in highly polar solvents, e.g. dimethylformamide or dimethyl acetamide, (optionally in the presence of other polymers, e.g. polyvinyl chloride or polyacrylonitrile), for producing films or coatings on woven fabrics or as binders for non-woven webs is known. This is achieved by processes in which the solvent is removed by treatment with water, glycerol or other liquids which are miscible with the above-mentioned highly polar solvents but incompatible with the polyurethanes.
The above process was described for the first time in German Patent Specification No. 888,766, which also mentions the use of other solvents which are generally non-solvents for the polyurethane (e.g. methylene chloride, acetone or benzene).

Numerous later publications disclose special process steps to ensure, with varying degrees of reliability, LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca. ~ ~
" ; ~; ' .

ll~S;~8~i8 that products with a microporous structure will be obtained.
Thus, in German Patent ~peci~ication No. 1,110,607, it is proposed to coagulate polyurethanes based on polyethers by exposing hygroscopic polyurethane solutions (using e.g. dimethyl-formamide . LeA 15,201 -DIV-Ca. - 1 a -105386~
as solvent) to the action of a stationary or circulating atmosphere, containing water vapor at a relative humidity of from 15~ to 100% at a temperature of from 10to 38C, measured with a dry-bulb thermometer. Absorption of water takes place because the solvent is hygroscopic, and the polyurethane starts to precipitate from the solution on the surface, presumably with preformation of the microporous structure. When films or coatings which have been pregelled in this way are p~aced in water, the solution coagulates and the Aygroscopic solvent is completely removed from the film.

The method disclosed in DAS No. 1,110,607 requires an atmosphere with an accurately ad~usted moisture content and prolonged exposure to this moist atmosphere. However, the results can hardly be regarded as technically reproducible, and, evidently, the method may only be employed with polyether urethanes. If pre-gelling by the action of the moist atmos-phere, as described above, is omitted, then the films obtained are either transparent and impermeable to water vapor or non-homogeneous with coarse pores and therefore unusable for the intended purpose.

German Offenlegungsschrift No. 1,444,163 discloses a slightly modified process which is carried out as follows:
By adding minor quantities of non-solvents (e.g. water), the polyurethane solution is first brougAt to a state of early phase separation, i.e. it is converted into a slightly cloudy form resembling a dispersion, before it is coagulated directly by immersion in the non-solvent (after having been painted on a support), in other words without first being gelled in a moist atmosphere.

When carrying out the process disclosed in DOS No.
1,444,163, it is difficult to find the correct quantity of LeA 15,201 ~ 2-,- .. .. . . - . , : . . . .

~38~
non-solvent for preparing the colloidal dispersions. Further-more, the process uses starting materials in an unstable state in that the properties of the dispersion change in the course of time depending upon the temperature and the degree of moisture. The elastomer dispersion is converted into a "pasty"
state in which it can no longer be shaped satisfactorily.

Another process is described in German Offenlegungs-schrift No. 1,444,165, according to which the polymer solution is said to bè converted into microporous sheets by direct coagulation, in a mixture of non-solvent and solvent, (e.g. dimethylformamide/H2O in proportions of between 10:90 and 95:5), without the preliminary gelling.

The method disclosed :in DOS No. 1,~44,165 requires prolonged coagulation times, especially in the case of baths with a large quantity of solvent, because the polyurethane coagulates slowly. The capacity of a given production unit is therefore substantially reduced.

According to another variation which has been des-cribed in Belgian Patent Specification NO. 624,250, a suffi-cient quantity of non-solvent is added to the polyurethane solution to caus~e the polymer to separate in the form of a gel.
It is in the form of this gel that the polymer is painted on to a substrate and then coagulated with non-solvent (water), to form a microporous structure. In this process, however, it is technically difficult to separate the gel and then form it into ahomogeneous coating.

In German Auslegeschrift No. 1,238,206, it is stated that the direct coagulation of elastomer solutions results in microporous structuresif the coating on the substrate is coagu--- 30 lated in a bath which is heated to a temperature close to its ~eA 15,201~ e~ -3-. ..... . . . . ..

- ~0~3868 boiling point, e.g. 95~C in the case of water.

Somewhat improved results are obtained if pre-gelling is also carried out at an elevated temperature. For example, in DOS No. 2,025,616, there is described a process for pro-ducing microporous sheets in which a thin layer of a poly-urethane solution is exposed to a damp atmosphere, having a relative humidity of at least 50% at temperatures above 65C, and the major proportion of solvent is then removed in aqueous coagulation baths, the product is then dried.

According to DOS No. 2,125,908, steam, at a tem - perature of from 101 to 190C, is passed over a layer of a polyurethane solution until the organic solvent content of the - layer has dropped to below 50% by weight and the layer has been converted into a solid, mechanically stable microporous sheet. This process has the particular advantage that the microporous end-product is obtained from a polyurethane solution, within a short time and by a single process step.

The state of the art described above, showing the wide range of processes known, would lead one to expect that it should, in principle, be possible to produce microporous films or coatings by coagulating polyurethane solutions under any operating conditions (temperature, ratio of solvent to precipitating agent, pre-gelling time, coagulation bath).

In practice, however, it is found that all the processes mentioned above are unreliable and give rise to - usable end products only if quite specific polymer solutions are used in each case. This is especially important if the process is to be developed from the laboratory stage to the large scale mass production stage. Even slight variations in the chemical structure of the polyurethane result in LeA 15,201~ e~ -4-~l~53~
homogeneous, transparent sheets which are impermeable to water vapor, even if the conditions of the process are o-ther-wise completely identical.

The higher molecular weight polyesters and polyethers with hydroxyl end groups used in the synthesis o~ the poly-urethane were found to be particularly sensitive in this respect. In many cases, the end products may vary from microporous to homogeneous even when using different batches of the same starting materials. Even basic types of poly-esters and polyethers which are normally suitable must therefore be tested separately from batch to batch, to determine whether the finished polyurethane solution is coagulable, and be selected accordingly.

The usual parameters, e.g. molecular weight and OH
number, cannot be used for testing the suitability of the starting components because even apparently very similar starting components, often result in polyurethane solutions with completely different coagulation characteristics. It is, therefore necessary, in each case, to prepare samples of the elastomer solutions and test their coagulation on a laboratory scale in order to find the necessary conditions, " which, moreover, must be observed within very narrow limits.
Some reaction mixtures, however, will, in all cases, result - in the formation of only partly microporous or transparent -` 25 sheets.

No explanation has so far been found for these surprising effects. In spite of many attempts it has not been possible to discover any components of the raw materials or elastomer solutions which interfer with the coagulation process by which microporous structures are obtained.
.

LeA 15,201~ e~- -5-''`' ~0~i3R~
It has frequently been proposed to add certain co-agulating agents to the polymer solutions to improve their coagulability, for example, DAS No. 1,270,276, and DOS Nos.
1,694,171 and 1,769,277, describe processes for producing sheets which are permeable to water vapor. According to these processes, solutions of from 90 to 70 parts, by weight, of polyurethanes or polyureas, free from NCO groups, and from 10 to 30 parts, by weight, of high molecular weight, sub-stantially linear, cationic polyurethanes, containing from 0.5 to 2.0% by weight, of quaternary ammonium nitrogen atoms, are coagulated, with water or a mixture of water and solvent, optionally after being first gelled in moist air. In addition to the cationic polyurethanes, these solutions may also contain anionic tanning agents as additional coagulation regulators.

- Although the addition of such known coagulating agents results in marked improvements in the coagulability of the polyurethane solutions, especially on a laboratory scale, the difficulties described above persist when the process is used on a mass production scale. The coagulability varies so much, from one batch of polyurethane to the next, that it remains necessary to go to the considerable expense of testing each elastomer solution before use to determine its suitability.

A particular problem arises when an anionic tanning agent is used, e.g. a sulphonic acid phenol formaldehyde con-densate. Althoughthese tanning agents improve the coagulation of certain polyurethanes, serious technical disadvantages arise.

Most of the tanning agent, which is usually in the form of an alkali metal salt, is washed out in the coagulation bath .
which, in many cases, contains dimethylformamide and water.

LeA 15,~01~ e~ -6-;
, ' .

~S3~36~
If cationic polyurethanes are used at the same time, these are also partly washed out, i.e. they bleed out, so that higher molecular weight impurities gradually accumulate under the conditions of the process and may cause damage to the porous sheet while it is still soft. The dissolved tanning agent, which constitutes the major proportion thereof, gives rise to difficulties in the recovery (by distillation) of the aqueous organic solvent (e.g. DMF) because the precipitated tanning agent must be removed from the solvent before the latter is distilled.

Another disadvantage is that the small quantity of phenol formaldehyde conclensate remaining in the microporous sheet is suf~icient to have a significant deleterious ef~ect on its stability to light. Furthermore, microporous sheets lS coagulated under these conditions have a harder handle which is generally undesirable.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a process for making microporous polyurethane or poly-urethane urea sheets which is devoicl of the foregoing dis-advantages. Another object of the invention is to provide a process for making polyurethane or polyurethane urea sheets by coagulation which does not require such accurate measurement of the components of the coagulateable solution as the prior art processes. Still another object of the invention is to provide a process for making microporous polyurethane and polyurethane urea sheets having improved resistance to hydrolysis.

The foregoing objects and others are accomplished in accordance with this invention, generally speaking, by providing a process for making microporous sheets ~herein a - cationic polyurethane and/or an anionic polyurethane is included LeA 15,201~ 7-3~
in a solution containing a non-ionic polyurethane or poly-urethane urea in a polar solvent therefore, and the resulting solution is coagulated by mixing a non-solvent therewith.

It has now surprisingly been found, that coagulation can be substantially improvedr without the above mentioned disadvantages attendant upon the use of tanning agent, and can be carried out economically if the polyure-thane solutions which are to be coagulated contain certain cationic or anionic suspensions of polyurethane ureas as such or preferably mixed in the form of salts. In this way, even the coagulation of polyurethane solutions which previously could not be utilized can be so regulated that sheets with a satisfactory microporous structure are obtained.

This invention thus provides a process for making microporous sheets which are permeable to water vapor comprising coagulating a hygroscopic polyurethane solution the improvement which comprises mixing a suspension of either a cationic polyurethane or an anionic polyurethane with a solution containing a non-ionic polyurethane in a polar solvent therefor before coagulation of the solution by mixing a non-solvent therewith, wherein said cationic or anionic polyurethane suspension is sedimenting and redispersible, has a particle size of 0.8 to 100 microns, and is insoluble in boiling dimethylformamide.

Combinations which contain a very small pro-portion of ionic groups and a high proportion of separately prepared, non-ionic polyurethanes or polyurethane ureas are particularly advantageous. The sum of cationic and anionic groups, based on 100 g of microporous polyurethane sheets, LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca. ~ 8 -~351~
is from about 0.30 to 0.001, preferably from 0.05 to 0.005 ionic equivalents. The equivalent ratio of cationic groups to anionic groups is preferably from about 20:1 to about 1:20 and more particularly from about 10:1 to about 1:2.

A special advantage obtained by using mixed dispersions, according to the present invention, as compared with the known method of using cationic polyurethanes as coagula-LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca. - 8a -. . " . .

` - 1053~3~8 tion regulators, is that, for a given coagulation regulating effect, the total ion content required is much lower. The films and coatings produced, according to the invention, therefore, have a higher resistance to hydrolysis. The amount of swelling in water is also much less, for a given number of ionic groups, if the film contains both cationic and anionic polyurethanes.

Numerous compounds, obtained by a wide variety of different methods, may be used as non-ionic polyurethanes in theprocess of the present invention, however, they all contain the typical urethane groups ~see Ullmann, Enzyklopadie der technischen Chemie, 4th Edition, Volume 14, pages 338 to 363)-For example, polyurethanes, in the strict sense of the word, may be used, which may be obtained ~rom higher molecular weight polyhydroxyl compounds, glycols and di~
isocyanates by single stage or multistage processes (via NCO
prepolymers). For example, polyesters or polyethers may be reacted under substantially anhydrous conditions with an excess of organic diisocyanate to produce NCO prepolymers which may then be chain lengthened with equivalent or slightly less than equivalent quantities of diol compounds, e.g. butane-1,4-diol, N-methyl-diethanolamine, hydroquinone-bis-(hydroxy-ethylether) or bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate. This method may be carried out either with or without solvent. ~lternatively, the components may be directly converted into elastomers by a single stage (one-shot) process and the elastomers may then be dissolved in highly polar solvents.
.
The polyurethane ureas described as "Component a" in British Patent 1,145,200 are also particularly suitable. To prepare these polyurethane ureas, higher molecular weight, substantially linear polyhydroxyl compounds, which contain LeA 15,201~ ~ ~9-~OS3868 hydroxyl end groups and have a molecular weight of from about 400 to about 5000, and optionally low molecular weight glycols, aminoalcohols or diamines, are first reacted under substantially anhydrous conditions with an excess of organic diisocyanate to produce a prepolymer, with isocyanate end groups, which is then reacted with water, or with bifunctional compounds in which at least one of the hydrogen atoms, which are reactive with isocyanates, is attached to a nitrogen atom. Because of the much higher reactivity and reaction velocity of these chain lengthening agents compared with diols, the reaction is pre-ferably carried out in highly polar, wa~er-miscible solvents - which have boiling points above 100C.

Methods of preparing such polyurethanes and poly-urethane ureas and their solutions have been described, for example, in German Patent Specification Nos. 888,766, 1,150,517 and 1,154,937, Ger~an Auslegeschriften Nos.
1,161,007, 1,183,196 and 1,186,618, Bel~ian~ Patent Specification No. 649,Çl9, French Patent Specification Nos. 1,380,082, 1,371,391 and 1,383,077 and U.S. Patent Specification Nos.
3,432,456, 3,379,683, 3,376,264, 3,536,668, 3,461,106, 3,507,83

2,929,803, 2,929,804, 3,040,003 and 3,-461,101.

Higher molecular weight, substantially linear poly-hydroxyl compounds, with hydroxyl end groups, which are suitable for preparing elastomer polyurethanes are, e.g. polyesters, polyester amides, polyethers, polyacetals, polycarbonates or poly-N-alkylurethanes, with molecular weights from about 400 to about 5000 and melting points preferably from 60C to -50C, or mixtures o~ such compounds, including those which contain ester, ether, amide, urethane or N-alkylurethane groups.

3~ Any suitable polyester prepared from an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic or heterocyclic dicarboxylic acid LeA 15,201~ ~ -10-1()538~B
or its esters or anhydrides and a glycol, such as adipic acid, succinic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, phthalic acid, iso-phthalic acid, phthalic acid anhydride, tetra~ydrophthalic acid, hexahydrophthalic acid anhydride, endomethylene tetrahydro-phthalic acid anhydride, glutaric acid, maleic acid, maleicacid anhydride, oxalic acid, terephthalic acid dimethyl ester, terephthalic acid-bis-glycolic ester, and a glycol or a mixture o~ glycols, e.g. ethylene glycol, propylene glycol -(1,2) and -(1,3)~butane-1,4-diol, butane-1,2-diol, 2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diol, hex~ne-1,6-diol, bis-hydroxymethylcyclohe~ane, diethylen glycol, triethylene glycol, tetramethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, dibutylene glycol, glycerol, trimethylol propane or the like may be used. Glycols or mixtures of glycols, which contain ~ive or more carbon atoms are preferred because of the high resistance to hydrolysis found in the polyesters prepared from them.

Polyesters, with a narrow molecular weight distribu-tion, which are obtained by the condensation of caprolactone and amines or diols, e.g. hexane-1,6-diol, are also suitable.

Exceptionally high quality microporous sheets, with excellent surface properties and good permeability to water vapor, may be obtained from copolyesters which have been pre-pared from about 90~ to about 60%, by weight, of adipic acid and from about 10% to about 40%, by weight of terephthalic acid, and a diol, preferably ethylene glycol, butane-1,4-diol, neopentyl glycol and/or hexane-1,6-diol.

Exceptionally high resistance to hydrolysis may be obtained in the polyurethanesif the higher molecular weight polyhydroxyl compo-mds used are dihydroxypolycarbonates based Le A 15,201~

1~538~8 on hexane-1,6-diol, or copolycarbonates which have been pre-pared with the addition of small quantities (up to about 20 mol percent) of dicarboxylic acids, preferably adipic acid.
Mixtures of the above-mentioned compounds may also be used.

Polyurethane ureas with excellent resistance to hydrolysis can also be obtained from polyhyd~oxy polyethers, which may, if desired, also be used as copolyethers. Suitable polyethers may be prepared by methods known per se, e.g. by polymerisation of epoxides such as ethylene oxide,propylene oxide, butylene oxide, tetrahydrofuran or epichlorohydrin either with themselves, e.g.
catalysed by boron trifluoride, or by using starting components with acidic hydrogen atoms such as alcohols or amines, e.g. water, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol- ( 1 3 ~ ) or -(1,2), trimethylol propane, aniline, ammonia, ethanol amine, ethylene diamine etc.
Polytetramethylenether diols are preferably used.

Graft polymers obtained from partially saponified ethylene-vinyl ester copolymers and ~inyl compounds, as described in U.S. Patent 3~400rl73 are also suitable higher Le A 15,201~ -lla--``` l~S3E~6~
molecular weight polyhydroxyl compounds.

The graft polymers are composed of from about 10% to about 70~, preferably from about 15% to about 60%, of an ethylene~vinyl ester copolymer which is from about 10~
to about 80~ saponified and originally contained from about 25~ to about 75% vinyl ester, and from about 30~ to about 90 of vinyl chloride polymer. The preparation of such polymers has beendescribed, for example, in French Patent Specification No. 1,409,527.

When preparing the graft polymers, minor quantities of other monomers may also be added, e.g. vinyl esters, ~ unsaturated monocarboxylic and/or dicarboxylic acids, containing 3 or 4 carbon atoms, and their derivatives, e.g.
hydroxyalkyl acrylates and methacrylates, or maleic acid semiesters. These monomer or monomer mixtures may amount to 40% of the total quantity of momomer mixture which is to be grafted on the stock. The prc~paration of~ these graft polymers has been described, for example, in U.S. Patent No.
3,355,516.

Any suitable organic diisocyanate may be used, for example, aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, araliphatic, aromatic or heterocyclic diisocyanates or mixtures thereof. Dii;ccyanates with a symmetrical structure should be particularly mentioned, e.g. diphenylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate, diphenyl-dimethylmet'nane-

4,4'-diisocyanate, 2,2'-6,6'-tetxamethyl-diphenylmethane di-isocyanate, diphenyl-4,4'-diisocyanate, diphenylether-4,4'-diisocyanate, or their alkyl, alkoxy or halogen substituted derivatives; tolylene-2,4- and -2,6-diisocyanate and commercial mixtures thereof, diisopropyl-phenylenediisocyanate, m-xylylene ;` 30 diisocyanate, p-xylylene diisocyanate, ~ tetramethyl-p-xylylene diisocyanate or their alkyl or halogen substituted LeA 15,201~ ~ -12-. .

S3~ 8 derivatives, dimeric tolylene-2,4-diisocyana-te, bis-(3-methyl-4-isocyanatophenyl)-urea or naphthylene-1,5-diisocyanate.
Aliphatic and cycloaliphatic diisocyanates, e.g. hexamethylene diisocyanate, cyclohexane-1,4-diisocyanate, dicyclohexyl-methane-4,4'-diisocyanate, 1-isocyanato-3-isocyanatomethyl-3,

5,5-trimethylcyclohexane or 2,2 r ~-trimethylhexane-1,6-diiso-cyanate, give rise to products which undergo very little discoloration on exposure to light.

The diisocyanates used are, preferably, diphenyl-methane-4,4'-diisocyanate, the isomeric tolylene diisocyanates and p-phenylenediisocyanate, as well as hexamethylene diiso-cyanate and dicyclohexylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate, the last two being used, optionally, in addition to other diisocyanates.

The higher molecular weight polyhydroxyl compounds are reacted with the diisocyanates in molar ratios of from about 1:1.25 to about 1:6.0 at temperatures of from about 20 to about 130C, preferably from about 40 to about 100C. The reaction may be carried out in several stages, either without solvent or in the presence of solvents which are inert towards isocyanates, e.g. tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, chlorobenzene and dimethylformamide.

The reaction is carried out for such a length of time that the product obtained is a substantially linear prepolymer, with NCO end groups, which, when reacted with -approximately equivalent quantities;of bifunctional chain lengthening agents, yields a substantially linear elastomeric polyurethane or polyurethane urea, which is soluble in polar solvents.

As mentioned above, low molecular weight diols, - 3~ (molecular weight preferably below 250), e.g. ethylene glycol, LeA 15,201~ o_ -13-i053B6l5 butane-1,4-diol, bis-N,N-(~-hydroxyethyl)-methylamin2, bis-N,N-t~-hydroxypropyl)-methylamine, N,N'-bis-hydroxyethyl-piperazine or hydroquinone-bis~ hydroxyethylether),may also be used together with the higher molecular weight polyhydroxyl compounds. The quantity of low molecular weight diols used is ~ -preferably such that the reaction mixture contains from about 0.1 to about 4 mols of OH groups, from the low molecular weight diol, for each mol of OH groups from the higher molecular weight polyhydroxyl compound. Diols which contain tertiary nitrogen atoms increase the dye affinity, improve the light fastness and produce the active points for subsequent after treatments, e.g. cross-linking, wlth strong alkylating agents.

The NCO group content of the prepolymers, (based on solvent-free prepolymer ), is of major importance in deter-mining the properties of the resulting polyurethane ureas. It must be at least 0.75% by weight, and should preferably be from about 1.0 to about 7.6~ by weight, and in particular from about 1.5 to about 5.5~ by weight, in order to ensure that the polyurethane ureas will have sufficiently high melting points, tear resistances,elongations at br~ak and stress characteristics. If the chain lengthening reaction is carried out usingwater, the NCO content is preferably higher, e.g.
from about 3.5~ to about 7.6% by weight, because in this case, some of the NCO groups are first saponified to amino groups.

The chain lengthening agents should have a molecular weight from 18 to about 500, preferably from 32 to about 350 and they may be reacted as mixtures or stepwise. Apart from water and the low molecular weight diols mentioned above, suitable chain lengthening agents include, for example, ethylene diamine, propylene-1,2- and -1,3-diamine, tetra-methylene-1,4-diamine, hexamethylene-1,6-diamine, 2,2,4-tri-LeA 15,201~ o- -14-~S3868 methylhexane-1,6-diamine, 1-methylcyclohexane-2,4-diamine, 4,4'-diaminodicyclohexylmethane, bis-(aminopropyl)-methylamine, N,N-bis(aminopropyl)--piperazine, araliphatic diamines, e.g~
1,5-tetrahydronaphthalene, or aromatic diprimary amines, e.g.
4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane, 4,4'-diaminodiphenylether and l-methyl-2,4-diaminobenzene, or araliphatic diprimary diamines e.g. m-xylylenediamine, p-xylylenediamine, ~,~,a',~'-tetra-methyl-p-xylylene diamine or 1,3-bis-~ -aminoisopropyl)-benzene, hydrazine compounds, e.g. carbodihydrazide, adipic acid di-hydrazide, succinic acid dihydrazide, glutaric acid dihydrazide,pimelic acid dihydrazide, hydracrylic acid dihydrazide, tere-phthalic acid dihydrazide, isophthalic acid dihydrazide, ~-semicarbazido-ethane-carbazic ester, ~-aminoethyl-semicarbazide, ~-semicarbazido-propionic acid hydrazide or 4-semicarbazido-benzoic acid hydrazide; also hydrazine hydrate or N,N'-diamino-piperazine. These chain lengthening agents may be used singly, as mixtures or together with water.

Secondary diamines may also be used (but preferably less than 30 mols percent), preferably those with a symmetrical structure, e.g. piperazine or 2,5-dimethylpiperazine.

When mixtures of chain lengthening agents are used, the solubility of the polyurethane ureas generally increases and the melting point of the elastomers decreases. The preferred chain lengthening ayents are butane-1,4-diol, ethylene diamine, m-xylylene diamine, hydrazine, carbodihydra-zide, aliphatic dicarboxylic acid hydrazide, e.g. glutaric acid aihydrazide, and water.

The reaction of the NCO prepolymers with the chain lengthening agents is carried out in highly polar, water-miscible solvents which have boiling points above 130C. Theymay be solvents which contain amide or sulphoxide groups and LeA 15,201-~V~ -15~

- . . . . . ~ . . .. .. . .. .. . . . . . .

~)53868 have the capacity to form powerful hydrogen bridge bonds, e.g. dimethylformamide, N-methy]-pyrrolidone, diethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, formyl morpholine, hexamethylphosphoramide, dimethylsulphoxide, tetramethylurea and the like, or mixtures thereof. The preferred solvent, for commercial processesj is dimethylformamide.

A certain proportion of less highly polar solvents, e.g. tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, acetone or glycol monomethyl-ether acetate, which are not capable on their own of dissolving the polyurethane ureas, may be added to the highly polar sol-vents. The proportion in which these less polar solvents may be used depends on the chemical composition of the polyurethane and amounts of up to about 35% by weight of the total quantity of solvent. The concentration of the elastomer solutions should preferably be from about 5% to about 33% by weight, in particular from abou-t 15% to 27% by weight and the viscosity preferably from 1 to 1000 poises at 25C a~d, more particularly, from 50 to 800 poises at 25C.

Polyurethane elastomers, obtained by reacting bis-chlorocarbonic acid esters or bis-carboxylic acid chlorides with diamines are also suitable (one of the components of the reaction in each case being preferably a higher molecular weight compound with a molecular weight of from about 400 to about 5000). The reaction products of higher molecular weight bis-chloroformic acid esters of polyhydroxyl compounds with diamines and the reaction products of higher molecular weight compounds, which contain amino end groups, (prepared e.g. from polyhydroxyl compounds and diisocyanates and chain lengthening agents, with a large excess of compounds which contain NH2 end groups), with bis-acid chlorides or bis-chloroformic acid esters may be mentioned as examples. Compounds of this kind - LeA 15,201~ -16-. . . ~ , . . , ~

- ~ . . .

l~S38~
have been mentioned e.g. in U.S. Patent Specification Nos.
2,929,801, 2,929,802, 2,962,470 and 2,957,~52.

Segmented polyester or polyether elastomers such as those described, for example, in British Patent No. 1,017,614, U.S. Patent Nos. 3,238,178, 3,261,812 and 3,277,060 and in Belgian Patent Specification No. 574,385 are also suitable.
Cationic polyurethanes suitable for use according to the present invention may be obtained, for example, by the process described in British Patent No. 1,145,200 if at least one of the components used for synthesizing the polyurethane con-tains one or more basic tertiary nitrogen atoms and the basic tertiary nitrogen atoms of the polyurethane are reacted with alkylating agents or inorganic or organic acids. The positions of the basic nitrogen atoms in the polyurethane macromolecule are immaterial.
The polymers, which generally contain quaternary ammonium groups, have a partially hydrophilic character, and can be dispersed or form colloidal solutions in water or aqueous liquids, e.g. mixtures of water and dimethylformamide, without the aid of emulsi~ying or wetting agents.

Conversely, polyurethanes which contain rPactive halogen atoms capable of being quaternized may be reacted with tertiary amines. Furthermore, cationic polyurethanes may be prepared by a reaction accompanied by chain lengthening quater-nization. For example, by preparing dihalourethanes from ~iols (optionally higher molecular weight) and isocyanates which contain reactive halogen atoms or diisocyanates and halogenated LeA 15,201-~V-~ -17-.

10~3868 alcohols and then reacting these dihalourethanes with di-tertiary amines.

Conversely, ditertiary diaminourethanes may be prepared from compounds which contain two isocyanate groups and tertiary amino alcohols and these diaminourethanes may then be reacted with reactive dihalogen compounds.

LeA 15,201 ~ 18-1~1Si31368 The cationic polyurethane mass may, of course, also be prepared from a cationic salt-type starting component, e.g.
a quaternized basic polyether Ol an isocyanate which contains quaternary nitrogen. These methods of preparation have been described, for example, in U.S. Patent Specification Nos.
3,388,087; 3,480,592; 3,686,108; 3,479,310 ana 3~535r274 British Patent No. 1,006,151 and German Auslegeschrift No.
1,179,363. Suitable starting materials for synthesizing the salt-type polyurethanes are also mentioned therein.

10The aqueous dispersions, or colloidal solutions, of these cationic polyurethanes have particle sizes of from about 0.10 to about 100 ~m. They may also contain organic solvents, e.g. acetones or dimethylformamide. The solvents used for preparing the dispersion, e.g. in accordance with U.S. Patent 15Specification Nos. 3,388,087 and 3,479,310 and German Auslege schrift No. 1,178,586, therefore need not be removed from the dispersion. Moreover, high boiling solvents, e.g. dimethyl-formamide, may also be used for preparing the dispersion.

In the process of the present invention, it is pre-ferred to use cationic polyurethanes which have been prepared from higher molecular weight polyhydroxyl compounds, molecular weights of from about 500 to about 5000, polyisocyanates, and a basic chain lengthening agent, containing tertiary, prefer ably aliphatically substituted, nitrogen atoms, e.g. N-methyldiethanolamine or N,N-bis-(aminopropyl)-methylamine, and, optionally, other non-basic chain lengthening agents preferably dlalcohols or diamines, water, hydrazine or sub-stituted hydrazines.
,, .
The polyurethane mass preferably contains from about - 302% to about 12% of N-methyldiethanolamine. From about 10% to LeA 15,201~ ~. 19 - ~

about 100~ of the tertiary nitrogen atoms, thereby incorporated in the polyurethane mass, are quaternized with an alkylating agent, e.g. dimethylsulphate, methyl chloromethylether~ diethyl-sulphate or bromoethanol, and, if desired, the remaining tertiary nitrogen atoms are partly or completely neutralized with an acid, e.g. hydrochloric acid, lactic acid or acetic acid, in the presence o~ water.

It is preferred to use at least a certain proportion of a bifunctional or trifunctional alkylating agent, e.g. di-bromobutane, p-xylylene dichloride, 1,3-dimethyl-4,6-bis-chloro-methylbenzene, methylene-bis-bromoacetamide or trimethylol-propane-tris-chloroacetic acid ester and bifunctional or tri-functional acids, having PK values below 4 r e.g. phosphoric acid or sulphuric acid, in each case as aqueous solutions.
These compounds initially react predominantly as monofunctional compounds and subsequently perform a cross-linking function in the finished microporous sheets.

The cationic polyurethanes are generally dispersed in water while they are being prepared or, alternatively, sub-sequent to their preparation. The dispersed polyurethanes may,of course, also contain groups, e.g. methylol ether groups, incorporated in the molecule for the purpose of subsequent cross-linking reactions.

A suitable cationic dispersion in a mixture of di-methyl formamide and water may, for example, be prepared asfollows: A polyester, containing hydroxyl end groups, is reacted with a cliisocyanate to form a prepolymer which is then diluted with dimethylformamide and reacted with N-methyl-diethanolamine. This reaction is followed by quaternization with dichlorodurol (1,4-bis-(chloromethyl)-benzene) and the LeA 15,201 ~ ~ -20-~S386~
addition of phosphoric acid and a mixture of equal parts o~ di-methylformamide and water.

The preparation of an.ionic polyurethane or polyure-thane urea dlspersions may be carried out by known methods.
Suitable anionic polyurethanes have been described, for example, in U.S. Patent Specification Nos. 3,~61,103, 3,438,940;
3,539,483 and British Patent No. 1,076,688. In a similar man-ner to the preparation of cationic dispersions, compounds which contain either anionic groups, or groups which can sub-sequently be converted into anionic groups, are used in addi-tion to the usual glycols or diamines. The following are examples of such compounds: hydroxyl and mercapto acids, e.g.
glyceric acid, citric acid or uric acid, amino acids, e.g.
diaminonaphthoic acid, hydroxy and carboxy sulphonic acids, e.g. 2-hydroxyethane sulphonic acid or p-sulphobenzoic acid, aminosulphonic acids, e.g. hydrazine disulphonic acid, 2,4-diaminotoluene sulphonic acid-(5) or aminoethylaminoethane sulphonic acid, derivati~es of phosphinic, phosphonous, phos-phonic and phosphoric acids, esters of phosphorous and phosphoric acid and their thioanalogues, e.g. phosphoric acid-bis-propyl-ene glycol ester; hydrazine dicarboxylic acids and diaminoamido-carboxylic acids and their salts, e.g. sodium phthalate-bis-N,N-(y-aminopropyl)-amide; and the like. -The ionic dispersions may also be prepared ~rom polyur~thanes, containing free hydroxyl and/or amino groups, by reaction with aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes and, at the same time or subsequently, with a metal sulphite, hydrosulphite, aminocarboxylate or aminosulphate.

Another possible method of preparing the dispersions comprises reacting polyurethanes, containing ~ree hydroxyl -; LeA 15,201~ ~ -21-l~S38~J5 and/or amino groups, with cyclic compounds, having from 3 to 7 ring members and containing salt-type groups or groups which are capable of salt formation after ring opening, (see U. S.
Patent No. 3,461,103). These compounds include, in particular, the sultones, e.g. 1,3-propanesultone, 1,4-butanesultone or 1,8-naphthosultone, and lactones, e.g. ~-propionlactone or T-butyrolactone, as well as dicarboxylic acid anhydrides, e.g.
succinic acid anhydride.

Cationic or anionic polyurethanes suitable for use according to the process of the present invention may also be prepared by formaldehyde polycondensation, according to DOS
No. 1,770,068. In this method, higher molecular weight poly-isocyanates are reacted with an excess of compounds which con-tain methylol end groups, (e.g. aminoformaldehyde resins or phenolformaldehyde resins), and the reaction product, which contains methylol groups, is then dispersed in water and finally cross-linked by heat treatment, with the formation of methylene bridges.

Products of the kind described in German Offenlegungs-schriften Nos. 1,953,345; 1,953,348 and 1,953,349, may also be used as coagulation regulators in the present process.
These products are aqueous dispersions of ionic emulsion poly-mers which have been prepared by radical emulsion polymerization of olefinically unsaturated monomers in the presence of cationic or anionic oligourethanes or polyurethanes.

Cationic or anionic polyurethanes are particularly preferred in accordance with the inventi~n which exhibit some degree of cross-linking at the time of their use and not sub-sequently as in the case of the dispersions described above.

-- LeA 15,201-~IV-Ca -22--53f~fi8 The present invention does not relate to the preparation of such cross-linked polyurethane particles. This may be carried out according to different methods known in principle to a person of skill in the art.

In general, cross-linked pc,lyurethane particles can be prepared as a suspension in a suitable organic solvent or in water or even without the aid of a liquid medium. Further-more, it is possible, if suitable reaction components are chosen, to use any of these processes in order to arrive at cross-linked particles directly, or first to prepare substan-tially linear, thermoplastic particles and then to cross-link them.

To prepare a suspension in an organic medium, a solvent is generally chosen in which one or a plurality of reactants dissolve, but not the high-molecular reactant. In the course of the reaction in such a medium, the initially formed solution is gradually converted into a suspension, this process being aided preferably by means of stirring. It is essential that cross-linking only takes place after formation of the disperse phase, as otherwise swellins will occur. Solvents can also be employed that dissolve the polyurethane under heat but not at room temperature, when the polyurethane is not yet cross-linked but already in a high-molecular state. The suspension can then be obtained from the solution by cooling and simultan-eously stirring. This effect can also be achieved by the addition of a non-solvent, which, however should be miscible with the solver.t. The formation of a disperse phase withthe desired particle size can be influenced by the addition of suitable dispersing agents.
A variety of processes are kno~nfor preparing finely -- divided polyurethane in aqueous media. For example, the LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca - 22a -1l)5386~
solution of a polyurethane in a solvent non-miscible with water can be dispersed in water in the presence of an emulsifier and the organic solvent removed by distillation. A particularly preferred method consists in mixing ionically and/or hydro-philically modified polyurethanes w-ith water with or without a solvent, this leading to the formation of polyurethane sus-pensions depending on the starting components and the reaction conditions. A particularly preferred embodiment of this process consists in employing polyurethane prepolymers with terminal isocyanate groups or methylol groups; in this in-stance either very high percentage solutions can be employed or no solvents at all. The primarily formed coarse emulsions are converted by reaction of the isocyanate groups with water or with diamines or polyamines dissolved in the aqueous phase into high-molecular polyurethane urea suspensions accompanied by chain-lengthening and cross-linking. The chain-lengthening of prepolymers containing methylol groups can be achieved for example by heating or by lowering the pH value.

Suitable suspensions can also be prepared by feeding high-molecular polyurethanes or reactive NCO-prepolymers through nozzles into water or organic non-solvents.

All methods proposed for the preparation of polyure-thane dispersions or latices are also suitable in principle for the preparation of polyurethane suspensions as long as care is taken that these suspensions do not coalesce by sedimentation or shearing forces. This means that the primarily formed sus-pension of insufficiently high molecular weight should be kept in motion until the dispersed particles have lost their tacki-ness. To cross-link the dispersed particles, a low amount of starting materials which are more than bifunctional can be - employed i~ the synthesis of the polyurethane, for example, branched poly- ~- 22b -esters or polyethers, or triisocyanates or triols or it is possible to react an initially linear NCO prepolymer i.e. pre-pared from bifunctional components, with higher functional amines to produce a cross-linked polyurethane urea. It, however, is also possible to synthesize cross-lin]ced particles from purely bifunctional components by working under conditions which cause branching to take place, e.g. by the addition of catalysts which favor isocyanate trimerization- ~r- the formation of allo-phanate o~ biuret structures. The use of more than equivalent amounts of isocyanate in relation to the hydroxyl or amino compounds frequently leads to cross-linking in the presence of water and/or diamines.

Linear, high-molecular polyurethanes in the form of a suspension in a liquid medium or in powder form can also be subsequently cross-linked, e.g. by treatment with polyiso-cyanates or formaldehyde or compounds splitting off formaldehyde.
Products which contain basic groups, can be cross-linked for example with polyfunctional quarternizing agents or acids, and products which contain acidic groups, with metal oxides or polyamines. Agents suitable for cross-linking polyurethanes, which contain unsaturated double bonds, are, for example, compounds yielding radicals known per se or sulphur, poly-mercaptanes, and other agents which are at least bifunctional and capable of reacting with double bonds.

The solvent-free preparation of cross-linked poly-urethane particles can be carried out, for example, by pulveri-zation of polyurethane elastomers, e.g. in an impact pulverizer.
It is particularly expedient to pulverize the elastomer immedi-ately after its production when it is no longer tacky, but the reaction is not completely finished so that it can be c~ ted with the least possible consumption of energy.

LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca - 22c -~C~53868 A detailed description of the production o-f cross-linked ionic polyurethane suspension is to be found, for example, in German Auslegeschriften No. 1,495,745 (U.~. Patent No. 3,479,310), 1,282,962 (Canadian Patent No. 837,174) and 1,694,129 (~ritish Patent No. 1,158,088) as well as the German OS No. 1,595,687 (U.S. Patent 3,714,095), 1,694,148 (U.S. Patent 3,622,5~7), 1,729,201 (British Patent No. 1,175,339) and 1,770,068 (~.S.
Patent No. 3,756,992).

The particular importance of the chemically cross-linked ionic polyurethane suspensions for the process of the invention is, as was surprisingly found, that in very many cases it is possible to produce satisfactory microporous surface structures with the addition of such cationic or anionic suspension alone.
In that case, the ionic polyurethane suspensions, however, must meet the following criteria:
a) the suspension must be sedimenting but redispersible, b) particle size: 0.8 - 100 ~, preferably 2 - 50 ~, c) the polyurethane must be chemically so far cross-linked that it does not dissolve in boiling DMF.
The advantage of these embodiments of the process in accordance with the invention lies in the simplicity with which processing may be carried out, as only one single coagulation regulator need be added. In the case of certain elastomer types usingcarbodihydraziae as a chain-lengthening agent, however, the addition of cationic or anionic suspensions alone is not always sufficient (see Example 3*).

Combinations between cationic and anionic polyurethane dispersions, however, are preferably used in accordance with the invention. These result, on the one hand, in more reliable production (particularly when performed on an industrial scale) LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca ~k _ 22d -~S3~8 and, on the other hand, the addition of a quantity of ionic groups would be sufficient which is lower in relation to the polymer solids. Furthermore, dispersions may also be employed in this case which do not have to satisfy the above criteria (e.g. those with a small particle size the major part of which is chemically not cross-linked and therefore not soluble in DMF~.

Formulation of the elastomer solutions may be carried out by various methods. In many cases, it is advisable to first introduce the non-ionic elastomer solution into the reaction vessel and then mix the solution successively with the cationic and/or anionic dispersion, in either sequence, with `. LeA 15,201-DIV-Ca - 22e -~053B~8 vigorous stirring, until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
Care must be taken to ensure that, if purely aqueous ionic polyurethane dispersions are used, a solvent which is miscible with water, e.g. dimethylformamide or dimethyl sulphoxide, is first added thereto so that :Localized coagulation will not occur when they are added to the elastomer solution.

- Alternatively, the dispersions with opposite charges may be mixed very vigorously and the precipitated polyurethane or polyurethane urea salt may then be filtered, by suction, to remove low molecular weight ionic constituents, and then taken up in an organic solvent. The gel obtained in this way may then be stirred into the non-ionic elastomer solution as a coagulating agent. When this last mentioned method is employed, the coagulation bath does not contain any low molecular weight compounds; this is an advantage when recovering the organic sol-vent.

If desired, the formulation may be obtained directly from cationic or anionic polyurethane or polyurethane urea powders. The powders may be made up into a paste with a sol-vent, as described above, and then stirred, in the form ofgels, into the elastomer solution, a suspension being thereby f ormed.~

In a particular method of carrying out the present pro-cess, polyurethanes or polyurethane ureas, which contain poly-siloxane groups, or ionic polyurethane or polyurethane ureadispersions which contain the following structural unit _ Z O
z - si-o -Si-R-~-C-N<
_Z n - LeA 15,2~ e~_ -23-~l~S38b;1~
are used as cell stabilizers and cell regulators.

In the above formula, n ~ 2, preferably a number from 5 to 100, Z = Cl-C5 alkyl, C6-C15 aryl, or a siloxyl or siloxanyl group, preferably, Z is a methyl group, or a -R-Y-C-N- group;
.. .
O
the groups Z may be the same or different, but prefer-ably, only one of the substituents Z attached to a silicon atom is -R-Y-C-N- , o R = alkylene group, optionally containing hetero atoms and Y = -NH-, O- or -S-.

The total siloxane group content of the microporous polyurethane sheet is from about 0.1% to about 20~ by weight, preferably from about 0.3 to about 5%, by weight.

It is essential that the siloxane groups are chemically built into the polyurethane by way of carbon bridges, e.g. in accordance with the formula "
-(Si ~ )n Si- C - O - C - NH - , Polyurethane polysiloxanes of this kind have been described in German Auslegeschriften No. 1,114,632; U.S.
Patent Specification No. 3,296,190 and British Patent No.
1,176,490. These polyurethane polysiloxanes may be prepared from organopolyslloxanes, which contain at least one, preferably two, carbofunctional groups which are attached to silicon and carry hydrogen atoms which are reactive with isocyanates.
The carbofunctional groups are preferably aliphatic hydrocarbon -- groups, containing 1 to 6 car~on atoms, which may contain LeA 15,201~~ o- -24-~38~
hetero atoms, and carry at least one hydroxyl, carhoxyl, mer-capto or primary or secondary amino group.

The organopolysiloxanes may be prepared by known methods. For example, hydroxymethylpolysiloxanes, which are particularly suitable, mav be obtained by direct reaction of bromomethylpolysiloxanes with a]coholic potassium hydroxide solution. 4-Aminobutylpolysiloxanes are prepared by hydro-genation of the readily available nitriles and the corres-ponding carboxyl derivatives by saponification of cyanoalkyl-silicon compounds. Aminomethylsiloxanes are prepared by amina-tion of the corresponding halomethylsilicon compounds with ammonia or primary amines.

In~many cases, the functional groups are first intro-duced into a low molecular weight siloxane. The resulting products are then converted into higher molecular weight poly-siloxanes by the-known equilibration react~on.

Polysiloxanes which contain at least two, preferably from about 5 to about 100, siloxane groups and have a molecular weight of from about 194 to about 20,000, preferably about 5~0 to about 6000, are preferred. ~queous polyurethane-polysil-oxane dispersions may also be prepared from polyfunctional organopolysiloxanes. Organopol~siloxanes of this kind have been describecl, for example, in French Patent Specification No. 1,291,937 and in German Auslegeschrift No. 1,114,632.

The polymer solutions may also contain additives with-out thereby impairing their coagulation characteristics. Suit-able additives are e.g. polyvinyl chloride and its copolymers, polyacrylonitrile and its copolymers, carboxymethylcellulose, polyalkyl acrylates and methacrylates, emulsi~iers, optical LeA 15,201~ o~ -25-l~S3~36~
brightening agents~ antioxidants, light protective agents, e.g. N,N-dialkylhydrazides, cross-linking agents, e.g. para-formaldehyde, melamine hexamethylol ethers or other formalde-hyde derivatives, polyisocyanates, quaternizing agents or polyaziridine ureas and dyes, preferably insoluble pigments.

The coagulability of the polyurethane solutions may also be influenced, if desired, by adding non-solvents, pre-ferably water, to the coagulable polyurethane systems. The maximum quantity of non-solvent which may be added is reached when the polyurethane starts to precipitate~ Nonsolvent, e.g.
water, may also be introduced into the system in the ionic polyurethane dispersions. Additional nonsolvents may also be added in this case. The non-solvent is generally~not added in its pure form but as a mixture with solvents, e g. in the form of a mixture of dimethylformamide and water. The total quantity of non-solvent in the coagulable mixture should generally not exceed about 9~, by weight, and should prefèrably not exceeed about 6%, by weight.

The use-of the additives in the present process, in particular together with the polyurethane-polysiloxanes described above, has the important advantage that accurate measurement of the quantity of non-solvent, as was necessary in the conven-tional processes, (for example, at the stage of pre-gelling on a movable support by means of water vapor), is no longer required. Furthermore, the composition of the coagulation bath is now only of minor importance. For example, according to the present invention, products with excellent properties are obtained when polyurethane solutions, which contain coagulation regu]ators, are directly coagulated in water without the addition of non-solvent.LeA i5,201~ -26-.

3~68 In a continuous process for producing microporous sheets, the mixture, (polyurethane solution, cationic and anionic polyurethane dispersion ~md, optionally, polyurethane polysiloxane) is applied to a porous or non-porous substrate, e.g. by brush coating, pouring or application with a coating knife, and the layer applied to a support. If desired, this may then be passed through a treatment chamber, containing a damp atmosphere in which the layer gells to form a sheet, and then the material is passed through coagulation, washing and after-treatment baths, the latter being optionally an alcohol bath. The microporous sheet is then dried.

The thickness in which the layer is applied depends on the desired final thickness of the microporous sheet. It is generally sufficient to apply the polyurethane mixtures in thicknesses of from 0.5 to 1.5 mm. A porous substrate would be used if it is to be directly coated with the polyurethane mass.
Suitable porous substrates are, e.g. woven and knitted fabrics, non-woven webs or felts, random fiber fleeces may also be micro-porously bonded with the polymer mixture solutions. ;

A non-porous substrate, e.g. a glass plate, metal belt (optionally with a structured surface) or woven web coated with synthetic resins, e.g. perfluoropolyethylene, is used if it is desired to obtain porous polyurethane sheets which are to be removed and transferred, e.g. by glueing, by the reversal pro-cess to other substrates which are permeable to water vapor.
Suitable substrates for this purpose are r for example, split leather, cardboard~ paper or woven and non-woven textile sheets.

The permeability to water vapor quoted in the examples was determined by the method of described in "Das Leder"
LeA 15,201~ -27-~OS~86~3 1961, pages 86-88, which measures the permeability to water vapor in [mhgcm~ ~ (measured at normal pressure and a relative humidity of 65% at 20C). The tensile strength, elongation at break and moduli and other elastic properties of the microporous sheets were determined by conventional methods.

The strength properties of the microporous films are, of course, generally lower the higher the permeability to water vapor. Even for a given permeability to water vapor, the strength properties depend, to a major extent, on the quality and uniformity of the microporous structure, which in turn - are determined by the coagulation process employed. It is a par-~
ticular advantage of the present process that it gives rise to uniformly microporous sheets which have a goocl surfa~e, high temperature resistance, high strength properties and significantly higher abrasion resistances than those obtained by other processes and is still highly permeable to water vapor. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to use an accurately measured quantity of non-solvent and the time required for carrying out the process may be shortened.

The microporous products provided by this invention may be used for making shoes, raincoats and other rainwear clothing and the like.

The following Examples and comparative Examples illustrate the invention.

LeA 15,201~ 28-1~53868 1) Preparation of the elastomer solutions Product 1.1 A prepolymer prepared by reacting 1240 parts, by weight, of polyester A and 310 parts, byweight, of 4,4~-diphenylmethane diisocyanate u~der substantially anhydrous conditions, is diluted with a total of 4700 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide and reacted with 50 parts, by weight of carbodihydrazide in 100 parts, by weight, of water. The 25% elastomer solution has a viscosity of from about 25,000 to 50,000 cP at 25C.

Polyester A:
adipic acid esterified with ethylene glycol/butane-l,~
diol (molar ratio 1:1); OH number 56, acid number 1.

Product 1.2 An elastomer granulate, prepared by melt phase poly-addition at from 110 to 140C from the foliowing components:
50 parts, by weight, of Polyester A, 50 parts, by weight, of Polyester B, 48 parts, by weiyht, of diphenylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate and 13 parts, by weight, of butane-1,4-diol, is dissolved in dimethylformamide at 50C to form a 25~ solution.
A homogeneous solution with a viscosity of from 15,000 to 60,000 cP is obtained.

Polyester B:
Hexane-1,6-diol polycarbonate: OH number 56, acid nur~er 1.

- LeA 15,201~ ~ -29-"" , -, ,, -,, " ~ ,,, .,"; " ,, ~ "

1~38~
2) Prepar-ation of the cationic polyurethane sus~ensions Product 2.1 _ 900 parts, by weight, of polyester C are reacted under anhydrous conditions with 231 parts, by weight, of tolylene diisocyanate (65 ; 35 mixture of 2,4- and 2 t 6-isomers) at from 70 to 75C for 2 hours.

- The prepolymer is then diluted with 756 parts~ by weight, of dimethylformamide at 50C. 91 parts, by weight/ of N-methyl diethanolamine are added, followedt after a further 30 minutes by 24.5 parts, by weight, of dichlorodurol in :L50 parts, hy weight of dimethylformamide. The quaternizing reaction is completed after one hour at 50C.

24 parts, by weight, of 90~ phosphoric acid in 100 parts, by weight, of water, 880 parts, by weight, of di-methylformamide, which has been heated to 50C, and 1070 parts, by weight, of water, at 30C, are then added. After the mixture has been stirred for 1/2 hour, the resulting dispersion which has a solids content of about 28%, by weight, is left to cool.

Polyester C: adipic acid/phthalic acid (molar ratio 1 : 1) esterified with ethylene glycol; OH number 62, acid - --number 1.

Product 2.2 960 parts, by weight, of polyester C are reacted under anhydrous conditions with 228 parts, by weight, of hexamethylene-1,6-diisocyanate at from 100 to 110C for 2 hours, with stirring, and then cooled to 50C.

_ LeA 15,201~ ~ -30-- ~053t~168 28.4 parts, by weight, of N-methyldiethanolamine are then ~dded, followed, after 30 minutes, by 29.6 parts, by weight, of dimethylsulphate in 150 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide.

After a further 15 minutes, the prepolymer is diluted with 1096 parts, by weight, of dimèthylformamide at 50C and adjusted to room temperature. NCO content of the prepolymer:
2.56%

The 50~ prepolymer solution is reacted with 270 parts, by weight, of 18.1% aqueous diethylene triamine solution with the addition of 2060 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide/
water (proportion, by weight: 55 : 45), with vigorous stirring, :
at from 18 to 25C. Stirring is then continued for a further 3 hours.

The sedimentingbut redispersible suspenslon consists of 27%, by weight, of solids, 50% of DMF and 23% of water~

3) Preparation of anionic polyurethane suspensions Product 3.1 (aliphatic compound) 20 5200 parts, by weight, of 50% prepolymer solution of Poly ester C and hexamethylene-1,6-; diisocyanate in dimethylforma-mide (NCO content = 3.72~) are reacted with vigorous stirring at 20C with 1403 parts, by weight, of a 23.8% aqueous solution of sodium ~-aminoethyl-aminoethane sulphonate . and 223 parts, by weight, of a 13% aqueous solution of diethylene triamine in LeA 15,201~~/~ G~ . -31-...

I634 parts, by weight, o a dimethylformamide/water mi~ture (proportion hy weight 48/52).

The sedimentingbut red:ispersible suspension contains 35% of solids, 25~ of water and 40~ of DMF.

Product 3.2 (aromatic compound) 4885 parts, by weight, of a 50% DMF prepolymer solution (NC0.
content 3.46~) prepared from 8000 parts,by weight,of polyester C
a~
2L~00 parts, b~ weight, of -tolylene diisocyanate (80:20 mixture of 2,4- and 2,6-isomers) are reacted with a 20% aqueous solution of 1125 parts, by weight, of diethylene triamine and 327 g of the sodium salt of aminoethyl-amino-ethane sulphonic acid (amine - equivalent ratio 4 : 1) in 1620 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide/water ~ratio by weight 32 : 68) to form a sedimenting but redispersible polyurethane sus-~ pension as described for product 3.1. The suspension contains 35~ of solids, 40% DMF and 25% water.

4) Preparation of the polyurethane urea salts A cationic dispersion is introduced into a reaction vessel at room temperature and an anionic suspension is slowly added with vigorous stirring. When phase separation takes place, the mixture is homogenized with dimethylformamide. Stirring is continued for one more hour. The polyurethane salt is then precipitated with approximately an equal quantity of methanol/
water (ratio 1 : 1~. After complete precipitation, (from 1 to -3 hours), the polyurethane salt is filtered by suction and LeA 15,201~ G~ -32-. . . . - : ~

l~S3~68 washed, repeatedly, with small portions of methanol. The moist filter cake is then immediately taken up in dimethyl-formamide. The thus obtained gel-like polyurethane or poly-urethane urea salt may be direc-tly suspended in a polyurethane elastomer solution, to act as coagulating agent, at any time thereafter.

Product 4.1 . .
obtained from cationic dispersion 2.2 and anionic suspension 3.1 Solids content 15 10 Water content 7%
DME/CH30H content 78%
Ionic ratio cation: anion = 5:1.

Product 4.2 obtained from cationic dispersion 2.2 and anionic suspension 3.2.
Solids content 11.5~
l~ater content 6.5%
DMF/CH30H content 82.0%
Ionic ratio cation: anion = 3:1.

5) Preparation of the polyurethane or polyurethane urea polysiloxanes Product 5.1 Non-ionic polysiloxane obtained from: .

25 125.00 parts, by weight, of Polyester D, 25.15 parts, by weight, of hexamethylene diisocyanate, 96.15 parts, by weight, of carbofunctional siloxane (Formula I; n abou-t 14; OH content 2.7%, by weight; Molecular weight =12~0) LeA 15,201 -~J~ 33-il6~1 (39.l~, by weight, on the total soLids content) and 146 30 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide (NCO : OH ratio = 1.00).

The dehydrated polyester is reacted under anhydrous conditions with hexamethylene diisocyanate, with stirring, for 30 minutes at 100C. The NCO content of the reaction product after the reaction is 4.3~ (theoretical 4.26~).

The carbofunctional polysiloxane is then stirred into the reaction product, also at lO0C, and reacted for 3 hours.
- After 1/2 hour, the reaction mixture gradually hecomes homogeneous. The NCO content of -the reaction mixture is:
after 60 minutes = 0.25~, by weight, after 120 minutes = 0.15%, by weight, and after 180 minutes = 0.02%, by weight. After 3 hours, the reaGtion is virtually complete.

The reaction mixture is then diluted with dimethyl-formamide in three portions tl : 2 : 2) and stirred for one hour. After termination of the reaction, the viscosity of the 50% solution is from 5000 to 10,000 cP at 25C. Polyester D:
Polyester D: from hexandediol/neopentylglycol (1:1) and adipic acid (OH number 66, acid number 1).

Carbofunctional Siloxane:

CH3 ~ CH3 l CH3 HO - CH2 - Si - t si o ~ si - CH2 - OH

CH3 CH3 n CH3 (I) Le A 15,201~ 34 -. - ; -~ "
38~
Product 5.2 Anionic polyurethane urea polysiloxane A 50~ prepolymer soluti.on (NCO content 3.8~) is first prepared from 960 parts, by weight, of polyester D, 300 parts, by weight, of hexamethylene-1,6-diisocyanate, 60 parts, by weight, of organofunctional siloxane (formula ~ n about 11 ; OH content 3.2~ by weight;
Molecular weight = 1060), and 1320 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide.
This prepolymer is then chain lengthened with 794 parts, by weight, of a 21.8~ a~ueous solution of sodium ~-aminoethylaminoethanesulphonate and 111 parts, by weight, of a 14.4% aqueous solution of diethylene triamine in 770 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide/water (ratio 57 : 43) under conditions of vigorous stirring at 20C. --Product 5.3 Cationic polysiloxane polyurethane from 24.3 parts, by weight, of polyester C,

6.08 parts, by weight, of hexamethylene diisocyanate, 0.758 parts, by weight, of N-methyldiethanolamine, 0.795 parts, by weight, of dimethylsulphate and 13.6 parts, by weight, of organofunctional siloxane (Formula I; n about 14; OH content:
2.7%, by weight; Molecular weight =
- 1250) (29.9%, by weight, based on the total solids content).

LeA 15,201~ . ~35~

~)538~8 The polyester is dehydrated under vacuum for 30 minutes at 130C and the hexamethylene diisocyanate is then added at 100C. After a reaction time of one hour at 100C, the isocyanate content is 6.20% (theoretical 6.05~).

When the reaction mixture has cooled to 60C, methyl diethanolamine is stirred in and reacted for one hour at this temperature. The reaction mixture is then diluted with 18.4 parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide and, after a further 10 minutes, the dimethylsulphate, dissolved in 1.2 parts of DMF, is added.

A further 12.g parts, by weight, of dimethylformamide are then added at 60C. When the theoretical isocyanate content (2.05%) has been reached, the organofunctional siloxane is stirred in and reacted at from 60 to 70C until the reaction has gone to completion.

The viscosity of the final solution is 4300 cP. The solution may be diluted with any amount of water.

6) Preparation of the microporous sheets .

The coagulating agent is added, portionwise, to the polyurethane or polyurethane urea solution, heated to from 50 to 80C, (viscosity of a 22% solution at 25C: from 10,000 to 30,000 cP), and uniformly suspended in the solution by vigorous stirring. Before coagulation takes place, the reaction mixture is degasified under vacuum until all the air has been removed.

The bubble-free reaction mixture is applied to a glass plate or a moveable steel belt, 2 m in width, and its thick-ness is adjusted to about 1.5 mm with a wiper. The coated substrate is then passed through a pre-gelling zone where it LeA 15,201 ~ 36-: .
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is exposed to moist air (from 30 to 70% relative humidity atfrom 50 to 98C). It is then passed through a bath of water, the sheet thus being finally coagulated. The sheet is then washed and dried, in a heating zone at about 100C.

In Examples 6* and 9 a woven cotton fabric is directly coated.

The physical data shown in the Table apply to the microporous sheet without a support.

The coagulated sheets and coatings have a thickness of 0.33 -+ 0.03 mm.

The results of the experiments are summarized in the following table.

Explanations:
The examples marked with * are to be regarded as comparative Examples.

The quantities given are parts by weight based on the solids content.

"Tanigan" is a phenol formaldehyde condensate which contains sodium sulphate groups.

"Solids loss" means the quantity of substance washed away in the coagulation process.

"Surface shrinkage" denotes the difference in surface area between the elastomer solution originally applied and the dried sheet.
The flexural strength was determined on a Balli-Flexometer.

PWV = permeability to water vapour.
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Le~ 15,201 ~7/6/ ~ 40 lOS3~36~ -Example 10 a) Production of a cationic, cross-linked polyurethane urea suspension 79.5 mol of polyester C are dehydrated in vacuo for 30 minutes at 130 C, then stirred for 1 hour at 100 C with 138 mol of toluylene-diisocyanate (2,4-/2,6-isomer mixture in a ratio of 65 to 35) and 177 mol of 1,6-hexamethylene di-isocyanate and the product thereafter cooled to 60 C. A
solution of 37.8 mol of N-methyldiethanol amine in 13.5 kg of acetone is then added, the mixture stirred for another hour at 60 C and diluted with 32 kg of acetone. The pre-polymer is storable for a few days.
Before the prepolymer is dispersed, it is diluted, whilst quaternizing with 35 mol of dimethylsulphate, with acetone to 50 %. The NC0 content then amount~ to about 4.4 ~ by weight. The dilute ionomer solution is reacted9 whilst vigorously stirr$ng, with an aqueous solution of diethylene triamine at 15 to 30 C (equivalent ratio of NC0/NH2 - 1.10).
The acetone ~s subsequently distilled off at bath temperatures of about ~0 C whllst passing in nitrogen. Dimethyl formamide is added to the aqueou~ disp~rsion after dec~nting the ~erum, and the water partly removed by dl~tillation in vacuo.
The resulting redi~per9ible, cationic su~pen~ion has a mean particle size of about 10 to 20~ and con~ists of 28.6 %
by weight of solids, 43.9 % by weight of DMF and 27.5 % by weight of water.

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16~S3~168 b) Production of an anionic, cross-linked polyurethane urea suspension Analogously to a), a 50 % prepolymer (3.55 ~ by weight of NC0) prepared from 89.5 mol of polyester G and 250 mol of 1,6-hexamethylene dllsocyanate is reacted with a mixture of diethylene triamine and ~-aminoethyl aminoethane sodium 8ul-phonate at NGO/NH2 = 1.04 (the equivalent ratio between tri-amine and diamino sulphonate amounts to 1 : 2).
A storable, redispersible, anionic dispersion c~nsisting of 28 ~ by weight of solid~, 44.5 % by weight of DMF and 27.5%
by weight of water with a meall particle diameter of 5 - 10 is obtained.

c) Production of the elastomer solution Elastomer granules are produced by melt phase polyaddition at 110 to 140 C from the ~ollowing components:
50 parts by weight of polysster A, 50 parts by weight of polyester B1 48 parts by weight o~ 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate~
13 parts by welght of 1,4~butanedlol.
25 % o~ the elastomer is dissolved at 50 C in dimethyl~orma-mide. A homogeneous solution is obtained with a vi~cosity f 15 to 60 000 centipoises d) Product$on o~ the microporous foils Le A 15 201~ 42 -1~53~68 Suspension a) or b) is added little by lit-tle to the poly-urethane urea solution which has been heated to 50 to 80 C
and homogenized by vigorously stirring. The solids ratio between non-ionic elastomer and ionic polyurethane urea amounts to 4 to 1. Before coagulating the formulation which has great storage stability is degassed in vacuo until the air, which was stirred in, is completely removed.
The bubble-free formulation is applied to a glass plate or a movable steel belt 2 meters wide and levelled off to a thickness of approximately 1.5 mm with a doctor blade. The coating is then conducted through a pre-gelling zone and ex-posed there to damp air with 50 % relative humldity at 60C.
The coated steel belt is thereafter conveyed into a water bath where the foil finally coagulates. The foil is wa~hed and dried in a heating zone at approxlmately 100 C.
The coagulated foil~ or coating~ have a thickness of 0.33+0.03 mm.
Microporous surface structures are obtained using both cross-linked polyurethane ursa suspensions a) or b) and when tested on the Bally Elexometer these display a loop strength of over 200 000. The permeability to water vapour of the cation~lly coagulated foil is 6 mg/cm2 per hour, that of the anionically coagulated foil 2 mg/cm2 per hour.
The~ormulationS in accordance with Example 10 can be applied in an analogou~ manner to a textile substrate and thareafter coagulated in a water bath.

- Le A 15 201-~/Y~ 43 -

Claims (5)

The embodiments of the invention in which exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a process for making microporous sheets which are permeable to water vapor comprising coagulating a hygroscopic polyurethane solution the improvement which comprises mixing a suspension of either a cationic polyurethane or an anionic polyurethane with a solution containing a non-ionic polyurethane in a polar solvent therefor before coagulation of the solution by mixing a non-solvent therewith, wherein said cationic or anionic polyurethane suspension is sedimenting and redispersible, has a particle size of 0.8 to 100 microns, and is insoluble in boiling dimethyl-formamide.

2. The process of Claim 1, wherein said suspension contains a non-ionic or an ionic polyurethane polysiloxane.

3. The process of Claim 1, wherein the polyurethane solute in the solution is a non-ionic polyurethane substantially free from urea linkages.

4. The process of Claim 1, wherein at least one of the polyurethanes is polyurethane urea.

5. The product of the process of Claim 1.