Synthesis of Multi-Site Polyether Amine Triazine Derivative for Sustainable Leather Manufacturing

Abstract

In this work, a multi-site polyether amine triazine derivative (ET) was prepared via a one-step process and its structure was confirmed using FT-IR and 1H NMR analyses. Then, the ET was applied to the tanning process and the ET tanning approach optimized and evaluated. The result indicated that after tanning with 8% ET at pH 6 for 6 h, the shrinkage temperature of leather was 83.9°C and the thickness change rate was 97.5%. The XRD, DSC, TG, SEM and Zeta potential analyses demonstrated that ET could couple with the amino groups of the collagen side chains and breaking partial hydrogen bonds between fibers, brought significant improvement to the softness of leather without obvious damage to the high-level structure of collagen. Residual Cl- concentration in the wastewater
decreased 42.1% in the tanning process compared to the conventional chrome tanning method. The emissions of COD and TDS in the tanning process reduced by 40.5% and 27.2%, respectively. It is conceivable that the ET tanning approach provides an improved approach to promote leather industry to develop sustainably.