FOCUS ON POWDER
outstanding decorative characteristics, but
also combats the growth of microbes such
as bacteria and mould. Suitable for a wide
range of applications, it is typically used in
hygiene conscious environments such as
hospitals, clinics, changing rooms, schools
and public transport. The BioCote
antimicrobial technology active in Interpon
AM shows no mercy. It reduces up to
99.99% of bacteria and mould on a
protected surface, making it easier to keep
hygienically clean and reducing the risk of
cross-contamination.
Original Source: AkzoNobel, 2019. Found on
SpecialChem Coatings and Inks Formulation,
30 Jan 2019, (Website: http://www.
specialchem4coatings.com), Copyright
AkzoNobel 2019.
Choosing the Right Powder
The guidelines presented in this article are
general in nature and allow you to
understand the basic differences in
performance among the most common
powder coating types commercially
available. Please note that not all powders
are created equally. Formulators fine tune
products for specific requirements, so one
polyester powder coating may not be equal
in performance to another polyester powder.
Be aware that in most cases you get what
you pay for. Lower cost products probably
have higher levels of low performance
ingredients (e.g. fillers) and hence lower
performance, so don’t always buy on cost.
Although it may not be possible in all
cases, providing a specification to your
supplier is the ideal way to communicate the
coating performance requirements for your
products. A specification should include only
the most critical performance requirements
for the coating(s). Paramount are color,
gloss, cleanliness and smoothness.
Specifications should be tailored to the
performance required by your ultimate
customers and can include properties such
as impact resistance, solvent/stain
resistance, hardness and UV resistance.
By defining the exact coating performance
required, a specification fulfills two essential
objectives. First, it allows a coating supplier
to qualify their powder coating(s) for use on
your products, and second, it serves as an
ongoing roadmap for every powder coating
shipped to your facility. After a powder
coating is qualified per your coating
specification, you can require a supplier to
complete a Certificate of Conformance for
every batch of material shipped to you. This
provides a traceable record that ensures the
ongoing quality of the coatings applied to
your products.
Finally, you need to consider the ultimate
cost of the powders that meet your needs.
Cost is not just price per pound, but how
much coverage a pound of powder delivers.
Therefore, it is essential to compare the
specific gravity of candidate powder coatings
– higher specific gravity equals less
coverage per pound. So, focus on the cost
April 2019
COATINGS
per coverage instead of just the cost per
pound.
Original Source: Powder Coated Tough, 30 Jan
2019, (Website: https://www.
powdercoatedtough.com), Copyright Powder
Coated Tough 2019.
Evaluating and Testing the
Weathering of Coatings
Exterior weathering can have a dramatic
effect on the aesthetic, functional and
physical properties of coatings that can
include chalking, film erosion, cracking, color
change, etching, blisters, peeling, spotting,
and loss of hardness, flexibility (increase in
glass transition temperature, or Tg), gloss,
and adhesion. Multiple formulation issues
influence the performance of coatings in a
given exterior environment and include: resin
type, crosslinker type, pigment/color,
pigment type, pigment to binder ratio,
presence of catalyst and additive selection.
The major issues impacting exterior
weathering include: photooxidation
(presence of oxygen and light) and
hydrolysis due to the effects of moisture,
heat and light. The former can be mitigated
to a degree with the proper use of UV
absorbers to reduce exposure of the polymer
matrix to UV light, antioxidants and hindered
amine light stabilizers (HALS) to reduce the
effects of associated oxidative degradation.
Original Source: UL Prospector, 15 Feb 2019,
(Website: https://knowledge.ulprospector.com/),
Copyright UL, LLC 2019.
Interaction of fumed silica with
epoxy resin
Researchers recently investigated the
chemical interaction of fumed silica of
different sizes with epoxy via ultrasonication
for improved coating.
Blank epoxy coating (EC) and fumed
silica epoxy composite coatings (SECCs)
reinforced with different loading levels of
nano- (7 nm) and micro (0.2–0.3 mm) silica
were successfully prepared using ultrasonic
technique. SEM analysis revealed a uniform
dispersion of nano- and micro-silica fillers in
the epoxy matrix up to 3 wt.% loading. It is
found that ultrasonication results in
permanent chemical bonding between epoxy
resin and silica particles as investigated by
FT-IR spectroscopy and DSC. Quantitative
FTIR generally reveals that nano-silica
shows more participation in chemical
bonding to epoxy than micro-silica.
Coated steel panels with either EC or
SECCs were evaluated with regard to
surface wettability, corrosion resistance,
thermal stability and mechanical properties.
Micro-silica treated coatings show enhanced
hydrophobicity in contrast to nano-silica
samples as revealed by contact angle
measurements. Results of salt spray test
and thermogravimetric analysis indicate that
the addition of nano-silica show improved
corrosion resistance and thermal stability of
the epoxy coating compared to micro-silica.
The mechanical properties namely scratch
hardness, adhesion, impact strength and
abrasion resistance were also improved in
the same manner.
Original Source: Progress in Organic Coatings,
Volume 129, April 2019, Pages 1-9, Copyright
Elsevier B.V. 2019.
MoS2-CNFs composites to enhance
anticorrosive performance
In a recent study, MoS2-CNFs composites
were prepared to enhance the anticorrosive
and mechanical properties of epoxy
coatings. To enhance the anticorrosive and
mechanical performances of carbon
nanofibers (CNFs) in epoxy (EP) coatings,
molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and g- (2, 3-
epoxypropoxy) propytrimethoxysilane
(KH560) have been combined for inner
reinforcement and outer surface modification
based on CNFs.
The electrochemical impedance
spectroscopy, tensile testing and
microhardness testing demonstrated that
MoS2-CNFs (0.8%) composite can
prominently enhance the anticorrosive and
mechanical performance of the EP coating.
Furthermore, the impedance of EP/MoS2-
CNFs (0.8%) was higher than that of the
pure EP and other composite coatings, and
the Young’s modulus (EY) and tensile
strength (ss) of EP/MoS2-CNFs (0.8%)
were increased by 65.4% and 56.6%,
respectively.
Original Source: Progress in Organic Coatings,
Volume 129, April 2019, Pages 178-186,
Copyright Elsevier B.V. 2019.
Catalysed NIPU coatings from bio-
based poly(cyclic carbonates)
Formulations of bio-based poly(cyclic
carbonates) and amines using cooperative
catalysis were studied to produce non-
isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs). Concerns
on the use of isocyanates as starting
materials for polyurethanes (PUs) have risen
due to their effects on human health after
exposure and also because their synthesis
involves the use of phosgene. Polyurethanes
are highly versatile materials used in
widespread industries such as automotive,
building, construction, and packaging. They
have also been used as flexible and rigid
foams, adhesives, coatings, thermoplastic, or
thermoset materials. Traditionally, PUs are
synthesised from polyols and
polyisocyanates. In order to circumvent the
concerns, much research has been devoted
to exploring alternative approaches to the
synthesis of PUs.
NIPU synthesis using cyclic carbonates
and amines has gained popularity as one of
the new approaches. In a recently published
5