Effect of surface modifications of leather on its joint strength with polyvinyl chloride

Abstract

The treatment of bovine leathers with wetting and lyotropic agents followed by heating produced a strengthening of the leathers which increased their joint strength properties to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). A cohesive failure of leather was always obtained. The highest cohesive strength (or point peel strength) was obtained when the treatment was carried out at 140°C with the surfactant NFOE (8.5) (nonylphenol polyoxyethylene with 8.5 mol of oxyethylene). The lyotropic agents (CaCl2, urea) gave very high values (a five-fold increase), whereas the water-dimethyl ketone blends and pure water resulted in a smaller improvement in cohesive strength (a three-fold increase). The improved cohesive strength of leather was mainly due to the destruction of the ordered structure of collagen fibres and to the creation of a complex entanglement network among the collagen fibres. The treatments applied to a bovine leather produced a shrinkage of 65%; the degree of shrinkage was not a function of the kind of treatment, but...