Breathable leather-like materials and process for making same

Claim 1

A process for producing a leather-like material having a high degree of air permeability, good abrasion resistance and resistance to cracking at low temperatures, which comprises the steps of: (a) applying an aqueous polymer dispersion to a release medium, said dispersion having a gas entrapped therein to reduce the density of the dispersion to from about 0.4 to about 0.9 grams per cubic centimeter; (b) bringing said polymer dispersion on said release medium into engagement with a porous, fibrous substrate having a plurality of fibers extending outwardly therefrom to receive and hold said polymer dispersion to form a release medium-polymer-substrate combination; (c) subjecting said release medium-polymer-substrate combination to pressure to transfer said polymer dispersion to the fibers of said substrate whereby at least about 80 percent of said polymer is positioned along said outwardly extending fibers forming a polymer network wherein the tips of at least some of the fibers protrude from said polymer network with substantially no polymer being embedded in the base of said substrate, and wherein the polymer forms a discontinuous polymer phase which covers from about 30 percent to about 70 percent of the surface of said substrate with the remainder being a continuous pore phase; and (d) drying said polymer-treated substrate to form a leather-like material having a surface luster of from about -0.7 to about +5.7.