Leveraging fundamental structure-property relationships to develop sustainable solutions for compliant coating systems

摘要

Volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations are driving changes in coating formulations to waterborne technology or to higher solids in solventborne systems. Environmental awareness is leading to increased pressure to develop 'green' or 'sustainable' products for the coatings industry. The focus of this effort was to gain an understanding of the structure-property-performance relationships of cellulosic additives in high-solids (HS) solventborne coatings in order to better tailor these materials to address ongoing needs in compliant systems. In addition to the advantages they bring to high-solids systems, these additives themselves contain up to sixty percent cellulose, one of the most abundant natural renewable resources This paper explores the use of a developmental additive (DPA 2386) in helping improve brightness and appearance in HS Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) basecoats. Fundamental studies correlating the high-shear rheology of automotive coatings with final film properties were also undertaken. Optical profilometry was used to investigate the impact of the additive on the drying mechanism and structure development in coatings, during the initial drying period. Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) helped reveal the spatial distribution of the metal flakes and the morphology of the dried coating.