Waterborne UV‐curable polyurethane (UWPU) dispersions with different hydrophilicity and functionalities were prepared by varying the content of dimethylol butanoic acid (DMBA) and pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA). And linear and cyclic chain extenders with different functionalities were also incorporated into the UWPU backbone, including isophorone diamine (IPDA), diethylene triamine (DETA), and ethylene diamine (EDA). Effects of DMBA content, PETA content, photoinitiator content, UV curing time, chain extender on the properties of UWPU dispersions and films, as well as the properties of the unsized and sized paper were investigated. The water resistance and mechanical properties of sized paper were greatly relied on the particle size, the molecular weight, the croslinking density, and penetrability of UWPU. UWPU dispersion chain extended with IPDA (IPDA‐UWPU) displayed smaller particle size than that of UWPU. The paper sized with IPDA‐UWPU was endowed with best water resistance, tensile strength, folding strength and surface strength. XPS depth analysis revealed that IPDA‐UWPU exhibited better penetrability into the paper substrate than UWPU. SEM and AFM demonstrated that the smoothness of sized paper was improved, and the bond strength between fibers was enhanced. The obtained UWPU could be directly used as an effective and fast drying surface sizing agent for cellulose fiber paper. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42354.
