A Simple and Low-Cost Synthesis of Antibacterial Polyurethane with High Mechanical and Antibacterial Properties

In this paper, a simple and low-cost approach for the preparation of quaternary ammonium salt (QAS)-containing antibacterial polyurethane (APU) films is described. Epichlorohydrin (ECH), an inexpensive and commercially available chemical, is used to prepare the low-cost antimicrobial PECH-QAS. Then PECH-QAS, three-armed PPG, linear PPG, and diisocyanate are introduced for the synthesis of the APU prepolymer without any solvent in one pot for the first time. Water and three-armed PPG act as the cross-linking initiator and cross-linker in the preparation of the APU films. Using water as the initiator makes the preparation process more environment-friendly, and the cross-linked network guarantees the resistance of the film toward solvent corrosion. The influence of molecule weight of PECH-QAS, PECH-QAS concentration, cross-link density, and diisocyanate types on the mechanical properties and antibacterial properties of the APU films is extensively investigated. The optimized APU films exhibit high mechanical performance and excellent antibacterial properties.