This book is the first of its kind to tackle the number one challenge in the coatings industry: performance improvement in environmentally friendly coating systems. These systems have risen to clear dominance in the industry. However, they are undoubtedly the most difficult to formulate and the least understood of all systems.

Questions, answers, flowcharts, and real-life case studies are the essential elements of this presentation of integrated technological concepts. Specific emphasis is placed on the three most critical areas: wetting and dispersing, interfacial tension, and defoaming. The important performance enhancement variables are discussed in an easy-to-use format equally suited to the classroom, the laboratory, or the boardroom.

From the Preface: “...What makes environmentally friendly coatings so enigmatic, unique, and fascinating? And, perhaps the most important question of all — why is there such a shortage of integrated information? These questions can be answered quite simply: the science of environmentally friendly coatings is a very young discipline. As a result of the rapid evolution that always accompanies science in its infancy, there is a quite unsurprising shortage of integrative information that overviews the interrelationships that exist among all the disparate subdisciplines. This book was designed to fill that gap...”

Target Audience: Formulators, marketers, end-users, technologists, students, and others interested in improving performance of environmentally friendly coatings.

Table of Contents:

The Common Denominator of Performance Enhancement:

Introduction: New Generation Additives for the New Century

Interfaces and Evolution

Wetting and Dispersing (The Control of Pigment Interfaces):

The Mathematical and Practical Determinants of Pigment Wetting and Dispersing Improvement

Converting Theory into Practice: The Transformation of Interfaces

The Real Difference Between Wetting and Dispersing

The Control of Flooding and Floating: Theory and Practice

How to Control Gloss, Haze, and Color

Pigment Control: The Crucial Difference Between “Traditional” vs. “New” Techniques

The Interdependence of Rheological Variables and Pigment Particle Parameters

How to Produce Enhanced Pigment Concentrates

“Classical” Interfacial Tension Control (Flow, Levelling, and Surface Enhancement):

An Introduction to Controlling Interfacial Tension Parameters

The Interdependence of Surface Tension, Substrate Wetting, and Other Surface Phenomena

Advanced Methods of Interfacial Tension Control

The Special Influence of Chemical Structure upon Performance: Advanced Principles of Molecular Design

The Reengineering of Interfacial Chemistry: An Integrated Approach to Acrylate and Silicone Chemistry

Defoaming (The Removal of Unwanted Interfaces):

An Introduction to Foam Phenomena

The Performance Mechanisms of Defoamers and Air Release Agents

Integrative Discussions of Performance and Economics:

Newly Patented Developments in Complex and/or Multi-Layer Coatings

The Integration of Technical and Economic Considerations

Appendices:

200 Starting Formulations

Additive Usage Levels for 250 Different Pigments

Special Notes on Surface Measurement Techniques: Transparency, Gloss, Haze and Color

Unique Challenges in UV/EB-Curing Systems

The Comparative Interdependence of Thermostability and Intercoat Adhesion

Index