Improving the adhesive performance of waterborne polyurethane foamed artificial leather: A multifactor analysis for enhanced peel strength

• The peel strength of foamed resin reach up to 663 N/m (foaming ratio is 2.50). • The mechanical physical foaming process, is green and environmentally friendly. • This foamed resin can be directly applied in the shoe linings without adhesives. • This foamed resin can achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Developing high-performance, environmentally friendly foamed artificial leather for textiles, particularly durable shoe lining leather with high peel strength, remains a significant challenge. This study successfully prepared high-foaming-ratio waterborne polyurethane (WPU) foamed resins exhibiting exceptional peel strength. We systematically investigated the impact of resin formulation and microcellular structure on performance. Optimized formulations achieved a foaming ratio of 3.27. Crucially, without any CaCO 3 filler, the resulting foamed artificial leather delivered a remarkable peel strength of 663.00 N/m at a foaming ratio of 2.50. Even with 20 wt% CaCO 3 filler, peel strength remained high at 550.67 N/m, demonstrating outstanding mechanical properties and significant practical advantages. This work identifies key factors influencing peel strength and provides a vital foundation for developing high-performance, environmentally friendly WPU foamed resins, offering promising solutions for textile artificial leather applications.