Effect of functional fillers in solvent‐free polyurethane adhesives: Processing and characterization

Abstract

AbstractThe present work is focused on the study of polyurethane adhesives in the presence of functional fillers (encapsulated enzymes) intended to make them degradable. This is part of a general strategy aiming to recycle multilayer films for packaging, at their end of life, by means of separating the constituent layers as a result of adhesives degradation. Primarily, it was found that the presence of small quantities of functional filler greatly affects both, the quality of the coating process and the kinetics of the adhesive curing. The former, because of the dependency on particle size distribution, leads to high variations in thickness and mechanical properties of multilayers and, the latter, because of a significant catalytic effect (higher curing rates). Indeed, an assessment of the adhesives' kinetics by rheology showed that the pot‐life and the cross‐over point (G′ = G″) for the enzyme‐containing system were obtained three times faster in comparison to the control formulation. These findings were also confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry measurements. On the other hand, by reducing and homogenizing the filler's particle size using separated sieved material (≤50 μm), improvements in coating control as well as in the quality and final properties of the multilayers were evidenced.Highlights Recycling multilayer plastic films for flexible packaging. Encapsulated enzymes to degrade the polyurethane adhesive in specific conditions. The presence of functional fillers affects the coating process. Process optimization to ensure the coating quality control.