Leather-like material having excellent water vapor permeability and

Abstract

A leather-like material having a soft feed and a high water vapor permeability comprises a substrate of a fiber aggregate and a microporous grain layer mainly comprising a polyurethane elastomer and having an average thickness between 20 .mu.m and 300 .mu.m, preferably between 20 .mu.m and 200 .mu.m, more preferably 20 .mu.m and 100 .mu.m. The grain layer has an inner layer portion permeating partly into interstices of the fiber aggregate and bonding thereto, a topside having been coagulated to set up with a flat and smooth, or animal skin-like, grain appearance and micropores having an average pore diameter gradient of from at least 4 .mu.m in the inner layer portion to at most 3 .mu.m in the surface layer portion. The leather-like material is characterized by a water vapor permeability of from 1 to 30 mg/cm.sup.2.hr and a Gurley stiffness ratio of article to substrate of at most 1.5. The leather-like material of the invention is manufactured by a process comprising the steps in sequence of: coating a release belt with a water-miscible solvent solution of a polyurethane elastomer; superimposing a water-moisturized substrate on the coated solution; heating the topside surface of the substrate to coagulate said polyurethane elastomer by the action of saturated water vapor forming within the substrate; and then releasing the resultant leather-like material from the release belt, followed by washing with water and drying.