Colored Coatings and Artificial Leathers

Abstract

Novel coated substrates comprise a substrate and a coating thereon. The coating comprises a polymeric component and a colored oligomer. The colored oligomer is produced from a reactive dye with nucleophilic compounds, and optionally further complexed with organic cationic compounds.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A synthetic leather article comprising a substrate and at least one coating layer on at least one surface of the substrate, wherein the coating layer is comprised of a resin and a polymeric colorant. 
     
     
         2 . The synthetic leather article of  claim 1 , wherein the polymeric colorant comprises a chromophore and an oligomeric constituent bound to the chromophore. 
     
     
         3 . The synthetic leather article of  claim 1 , wherein the polymeric colorant is made from a reactive dye and a polymeric compound with at least one functional group covalently linked to the reactive dye molecule. 
     
     
         4 . The synthetic leather article of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one functional group of the polymeric compound is amine, hydroxyl group or other nucleophilic groups. 
     
     
         5 . The synthetic leather article of  claim 4 , wherein the polymeric compound is further complexed with a cationic compound. 
     
     
         6 . The synthetic leather article of  claim 5 , wherein the cationic compound is selected from the group consisting of amino, ammonium, imino, sulfonium, and phosphonium groups. 
     
     
         7 . The synthetic leather article of  claim 6 , wherein the cationic compound is a quaternary ammonium or phosphonium compound. 
     
     
         8 . A method for producing a synthetic leather article comprising the steps of (a) providing a resin or prepolymer, (b) providing a polymeric colorant, (c) mixing the polymer colorant and the resin or prepolymer to form a mixture, (d) applying the mixture obtained in step (c) onto a transfer substrate and heating the substrate to dry the substrate and form a resin coating thereon, (e) applying an adhesive onto the resin coating produced in step (d), (f) applying a backing substrate to the adhesive layer produced in step (e), (g) heating the assembly produced in step (f) to dry the assembly and bond the backing substrate to the adhesive layer, and (h) removing the transfer substrate from the assembly produced in (g) to produce a synthetic leather article. 
     
     
         9 . A method for producing a synthetic leather article comprising the steps of (a) providing a resin or prepolymer, (b) providing a polymeric colorant, (c) mixing the polymer colorant and the resin or prepolymer to form a mixture, (d) applying the mixture obtained in step (c) onto a backing substrate, (e) immersing the coated substrate obtained in step (d) in an aqueous solution or exposing the coated substrate to moisture to cure the resin or prepolymer and form a coating on the surface thereof, (f) removing the substrate from the aqueous solution, and (g) heating the substrate to dry the substrate and produce a synthetic leather article. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the resin or prepolymer is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane resin, polyurea resin, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the resin or prepolymer is a polyurethane resin. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the polymeric colorant comprises a chromophore and an oligomeric constituent bound to the chromophore. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the polymeric colorant is made from a reactive dye and a polymeric compound with at least one functional group which can be covalently linked to the reactive dye molecule. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one functional group of the polymeric compound is amine, hydroxyl group or other nucleophilic groups.