Abstract:
The invention relates to an environmentally friendly production method for a sheet-like article that does not use an organic solvent in the production process and provides a sheet-like article that compares favorably in terms of a uniform feel with artificial leather products produced from an organic solvent based polyurethane and in particular has good surface quality and texture and also provides a production method therefor. The present invention aims to provide a sheet-like article comprising a fibrous base material formed of ultrafine fibers and/or ultrafine fiber bundles provided with, as a binder, a polymer elastomer having a hydrophilic group, any thickness-directional cross section of the sheet-like article containing regions occupied by the polymer elastomer, the regions including independent regions each with a cross-sectional area of 50 µm 2 or more, the total area of the independent regions accounting for 0.1% or more and 5.0% or less of the cross-sectional area of the artificial leather in an observation view field. The production method for the sheet-like article according to the present invention provides a production process for a sheet-like article including a fibrous base material formed of ultrafine fibers and, as a binder, a polymer elastomer having a hydrophilic group, the process including a step for adding an aqueous resin dispersion liquid containing a water-dispersed polymer elastomer and a viscosity improver to a fibrous base material and a step for coagulating the polymer elastomer in hot water at a temperature of 50°C to 100°C.
Abstract:
Provided is an environmentally friendly process for producing a sheet-shaped material having both an elegant, napped appearance and a soft texture, which qualities have not been achieved concurrently, and also exhibiting good abrasion resistance. The process of the present invention for producing a sheet-shaped material comprises the successive steps of: (a) adding a polyvinyl alcohol having a degree of saponification of 98% or more and a degree of polymerization of 800 to 3,500 to a fibrous substrate in an amount of 0.1 to 50% by mass relative to the total mass of fibers in the fibrous substrate; (b) adding a waterborne polyurethane to the fibrous substrate with the added polyvinyl alcohol; and (c) removing the polyvinyl alcohol from the fibrous substrate with the added waterborne polyurethane.