www.american-coatings-show.com 8 ; ;
;
developed a unique acrylic-epoxy hybrid
resin for concrete commercial flooring/
walls and residential garage floors that offers less VOC and faster return to service.
“Functionality Beyond Beauty and Protection”
INCREASING DEMANDS FROM CONSUMERS, CONTRACTORS AND REGULATORS FOR PAINTS AND COATINGS
; Due to more stringent VOC limits,
formulators are responding with low- to
no-VOC products that maintain desired
performance characteristics and application properties. Sylvia Insogna,
North American marketing director at
Dow Coating Materials, answers questions on tends in water-borne coating
technology.
;; What are the most important trends
in water-based paints and coatings?
Sylvia Insogna: Consumers, contractors and regulators demand sustainability, ease-of-application and durability from paints and coatings today.
As VOC limits become more stringent,
formulators are responding with low- to
no-VOC products that maintain desired
performance characteristics and application properties. As requests increase
for paints and coatings with functionality beyond beauty and protection, we’re
seeing products that perform a wide
range of functions, from removing stains
to improving indoor air quality.
;;In which areas of water-borne coatings technology is more research needed?
Insogna: As VOC limits decrease, there
is a greater need for new products and
technologies that match or exceed the
performance of higher VOC products.
Similarly, more research is needed to develop water-borne products that perform
as well as their solvent-borne counterparts, particularly in the industrial coatings space.
;;Are you working on any interesting
water-borne technology projects yourself?
Insogna: We’re developing a new
binder for interior vinyl acrylic paints that
improves manufacturing ease and a new
zero-VOC high-gloss binder for achiev-
ing a superior hardness profile in lower-
VOC coatings. Our new HEUR and HASE
rheology modifiers can improve surface
coverage and smoothness with excellent
formulation economics. We also recently
Water-borne paints and coatings must be sustainable, easy to apply and durable.
Image: M. Watzek/ Pixelio.de
Dow Coating
Materials
reduced repair and replacement, directly
impacting efficiency and resource use.
In these ways, functional coatings en-
able the coatings industry to contribute
solutions to the challenges of society
and constitute valuable growth for the
coatings industry beyond the broader
and traditional needs of decoration and
protection.
;;What are the solutions for functional coatings on which you currently work?
Weaver: Nuplex is actively exploring
the areas of easy-to-clean, hydrophobic/
superhydrophobic coatings, as well as
scratch resistance and enhanced rheology management, which is essential for
a number of functional materials.
“Providing a Challenging Extension
in Coating Properties”
FUNCTIONAL COATINGS HELP REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
; Topics related to coatings products
such as the personal wellbeing and the
impact on the environment are gaining
more attention – especially from the
consumer side. Functional coatings can
enable the coatings industry to contribute solutions to address these topics.
William Weaver, vice president Technology & Strategy at Nuplex, speaks about
the latest trends and relevance for functional properties of coatings.
;;For which novel functionalities currently under development do you see a
significant “market pull”, and which do
you think fall under the category a “
technology push”?
William Weaver: Functional coatings
offer performance across the industry in
the form of reduced environmental impact and enhanced personall well-being.
Easy to clean/self-cleaning coatings
have demonstrated significant market pull
with potential impact in industries ranging from automotive to anti-fingerprinting
and water proofing for electronics. The
underlying technology of hydrophobicity
may also play a role in enhancing anticorrosion, anti-icing and anti-microbial
performance, leading to improved material and environmental benefit.
Anti-microbial coatings are another
area seeing significant market pull, as
community needs change with demographics, driving performance requirements in hospitals and aged-care accommodation.
Self-healing coating systems, while in
demand from the engineering world, are
in a typical technology push state. Exper-
imental systems are available, but are in
their infancy and still need substantial
development before being able to really
impact the broader coating market.
Transparent electrochromic and thermo-chromic window coatings are attracting a
lot of attention with a technology push towards sustainable energy creation.
;;How relevant are functional properties, such as self-healing products, for
the development of new coatings?
Weaver: Functional coatings deliver
additional performance aspects along
with the decorative and protective performance characteristics provided by
traditional coatings. As such, they provide a challenging extension in coating
properties. If a coating can enhance a
structure’s environmental performance
by reducing its maintenance, energy or
water consumption, it can significantly
contribute to minimization of the overall lifetime energy and cost expenditure
of that structure and, therefore, its economic performance.
Well-being enhanced functionality delivers greater user comfort, resulting in
William Weaver,
Nuplex
Innovation
Center
Image: Eric Isselée
