Waterborne Polyurethanes for Electrical Applications as Insulators and Anti-Electrostatic

Abstract

In this manuscript, we analyze the viability of waterborne polyurethanes (WPU) and compounds derived from WPU mixtures, for applications of these materials in the electrical, electronic, and energy fields as insulation and anti-electrostatic applications. In the current research, several applications type of neat WPU, with any reinforcement, and WPU polymer blends have been studied and compared with standard criterions from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Standardization Association from Spain (UNE). To analyze the feasibility in different industrial applications selected, certain compounds obtained from the WPU blends were analyzed regarding their use in eleven low requirement insulator and anti-electrostatic applications. The research and analysis developed in this manuscript used standard data from the UNE – IEC norms, and these standard values were compared with the obtained research values from scientific literature and recent research published experiences. The obtained results were used to provide an application list that could be helpful for industrial applications. In this research, the analyzed WPU compounds neat WPU, Fe3O4 WPU composites, among other nanocomposites WPU blends, which has been currently published in research works, journals, and conferences. We have discovered some possible useful applications for WPU with any reinforcement, mainly as insulators and for WPU nanocomposite blends for anti-electrostatic uses, mainly dielectric and mechanical features compared, however other test types are needed to obtain like flame resistance, thermal behavior, or another key aspect to analyze in deep.