May polymer emulsions be designed to compete with solvent-borne formulations in paints?
By: Susana Piçarra Gonçalves
From: Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal; Centro de Química-Física Molecular (IST/UL)
At: Faculdade de Ciências, Ed. C1, 1.3.14
[2015-11-05]
Aqueous emulsions of polymer nanoparticles are often used as binders in paints and coatings. When a polymer emulsion is applied on a surface, water evaporates and the polymer nanoparticles deform as they pack close together. By annealing at a temperature above the polymer minimum film formation temperature (MFFT), chains interdiffuse between adjacent nanoparticles to yield a film with improved chemical and mechanical properties. This is an alternative to the use of paints and coatings based on organic solvents, which are being ruled out due to environmental constraints. Still, the final properties of the films produced from aqueous formulations are usually not comparable with the ones formed from solvent-born paints… yet!
In this work we designed polymer nanoparticles with different structures and studied the influence of nanoparticles’ architecture in the healing properties of the produced films [1]. We also designed novel hybrid nanoparticles - smart particles - to produce binders for aqueous paints and coatings with improved resistance to chemicals and reduced VOCs emission [2].
May polymer emulsions be designed to compete with solvent-borne formulations in paints?...
                                       …Why not?
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[1] Picarra, S.; Afonso, C. A. M.; Kurteva,V. B.; Fedorov,A.; Martinho, J.M. G.; Farinha, J.P. S., J. Colloid and Interface Sci. 2012, 368, 21-33.
[2] Piçarra, S.; Fidalgo, A.; Fedorov, A.; Martinho, J. M. G.; Farinha, J. P. S., Langmuir 2014, 30, 12345-12353.
