Leather substitute

Vinyl-Coated Fabrics. Leather substitutes are designed to imitate the appearance of leather with its grain surface. This requirement has been accomphshed by coating substances that are capable of forming a uniform film, and was first met by plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). A leather-like material termed vinyl-coated fabric was developed in the 1930s in the United States and Germany. Shortages of leather after World War 11 spurred the expansion of this material. 

Coated fabrics - [COATED FABRICS] (Vol 6) -high performance types piGH PERFORMANCE FIBERS] (Vol 13) -as leather substitutes QEATHER-LIKE MATERIALS] (Vol 15)... 

POROMER1C. A term coined to describe the microporosity, air permeability, and water and abrasion resistance of natural and synthetic leather. The pores decrease in diameter from the inner surface to the outer and thus permit air and water vapor lo leave lire material while excluding water from the outside. Polyester-reinforced urethane resins have been used as leather substitutes with some success, primarily for shoe uppers. 

Oil-,water-, and soil-resistant textile finishes Leather substitutes... 

Melt compression molding identifies in-mold laminating and in-line molding of carriers, decorations, etc. The basic technique has been used for over a century. There has been an increased application of textile cover stock and leather substitutes both preferably with a soft touch. This type development was primarily initiated by the automotive industry with the objective to be prepared for future trends. Other industries such as furniture and packaging manufacturers use this process. 

More and more products made from synthetic materials substituting for leather have been introduced into the market. S ynthetic leather substitutes are usually nonwoven fabrics coated or laminated with some kind of polymer. It is very often desired to identify if a product is a genuine leather or a synthetic substitute. The following four test methods can be used to identify the samples. 

After the surface layer of the leather sample is peeled off, the sample can be observed under a microscope. The collagen fibres of leather differ in appearance from non-woven fabrics and from the uniform polymers of coating and lamination in the synthetic substitutes. However, some artificial leathers in the market do better than the real leather. It has been reported that some leather substitutes with super-microfibres of nylon, polyester and polypropylene can have similar views of cross-section under the microscope (Cheng, 1998). A combination of the bum test, the chemical test, the infrared spectroscopic analysis and/or the microscopic... 

Formation of condensation structures is the reason for gelation of solutions of various natural and synthetic polymers. Gelation may be accompanied by conformational changes of macromolecules, which occur in the case of gelling of gelatin and other biopolymers, or in the course of chemical reactions. For instance, according to Vlodavets, partial acetalization of polyvinyl alcohol with formaldehyde in acidic medium under the conditions of supersaturation yields fibers of polyvinyl formals which further undergo coalescence and form a network with properties similar to those of leather (and artificial leather substitute). 

USE As fibers in sutures, in leather substitutes as a gel in photographic emulsions, in coatings in food casings. 

Pyroxylin Solution. Pyroxylin (nitrocellulose) or soluble cotton dissolved in amyl acetate or other organic solvents. Pyroxylin solution is used as a basis for the manufacture of lacquer, leather coating compounds, leather substitutes, cements, etc. It is generally more viscous than ordinary lacquers. ICAO A2... 

Isoamyl acetate Polytetrahydrofuran leather mfg., white Barium chloride leather mordant Antimony potassium tartrate leather stuffing Tristearin leather substitute Collagen... 

Conventional elastomers only develop acceptable mechanical properties when they are crosslinked. This would preclude the possibility of a recovery process for scrap. In addition, for the type of product envisaged, the snappy recovery of a conventional rubber would be inappropriate as a leather substitute. 

Other companies with an early involvement in developing nonwovens to replace textiles include Avondale Mills, Kimberly-Clark, The Kendall Co., and the West Point Manufactining Co. Freudenberg started trying to make a leather substitute in the 1930s (2). 

Polyurethane leather substitute and nylon-6 meltvinyl fabrics were treated with elastomeric polycarbonates, such as polytetramethylene glycol-bisphenol A-phosgene polymer, poly(ethylene adipate)-4,4 -dihydroxydiphenyl-methane-phosgene polymer, or ethylene bis(p-hydroxybenzoate)-polytetra-methylene glycol-phosgene polymer to give products with improved abrasion resistance and flexural strength [253]. 

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