Artificial leathers have a top layer that contains a solid, water-insoluble polyurethane elastomer, a solid, water-insoluble acrylate elastomer, and embedded particles of an encapsulated phase change material. The top layer imparts a desirable cool touch feature to the artificial leather, while also imparting other important physical and tactile properties such as a soft and smooth feel. An artificial leather comprises a backing layer and a top layer bonded directly or indirectly to the backing layer. The top layer comprises, by total weight of the top layer: (i) 25 to 75 weight percent of a solid, water-insoluble polyurethane elastomer; (ii) 10 to 40 weight percent of a solid, water-insoluble acrylate elastomer; and (iii) 1.5 to 30 weight percent of embedded particles of an encapsulated phase change material. The encapsulated phase change material (iii) has a melting or glass transition temperature of 20 to 37 C.

The invention relates to method for producing an artificial turf, comprising the following steps: providing a carrier material having a top and a bottom, providing a plurality of fibres, wherein each fibre comprises two ends extending from the top of the carrier material and comprising a connected region arranged in a loop-like manner at the bottom of the carrier material; feeding the carrier material with the fibres to a heated rotating calender roller; guiding the carrier material with the fibres over at least one sub-region of the surface of the heated rotating calender roller, wherein the connected regions of the fibres and the bottom of the carrier material face the calender roller; during the guiding of the carrier material with the fibres over the at least one sub-region of the surface of the heated rotating calender roller: transferring heat from the heated rotating calender roller to the carrier material with the fibres, and fusing the connected regions of the fibres with the bottom of the carrier material to the artificial turf, and removing and cooling the artificial turf. The invention further relates to an artificial turf comprising: a carrier material having a top and a bottom; a plurality of fibres, wherein each fibre comprises two ends extending from the top of the carrier material and comprising a connected region arranged in a loop-like manner at the bottom of the carrier material, wherein the carrier material is fused at the bottom to the connected regions of the fibres.

A polyalkylene glycol terminated poly-carbodiimide has formula 1:

##STR00001##

R.sub.1 is an aliphatic group from about 5 to about 12 carbon atoms, a cycloaliphatic moiety of from about 6 to about 20 carbon atoms, an isosorbide moiety, a 1,3-furan moiety, an L-lysine alkyl ester moiety, a rosin moiety, a cycloaliphatic unsaturated moiety, or a cardanol moiety; R.sub.2 is hydrogen or a methyl group; R.sub.3 is a methyl, ethyl, or propyl moeity; and n and m are integers and are each independently between 1 and about 30.