Though most materials undergo testing in their research and development cycle, surveys show that the main reason weathering tests are conducted is to meet specifications required by purchasers of material. This paper is intended to provide some technical depth to those who are primarily running routine test methods to satisfy requirements, with the belief that such knowledge will benefit routine users.<
Dubbed “RadTech Europe 07: UV/EB – The Natural Choice” by it’s organizers, the choice to hold the event in Vienna in November meant that nature itself played a role by dumping snow on attendees trying to get in and out of Austria. But if the weather was indeed brisk – so was activity at the conference, which has become a forum for UV and EB suppliers to gather every two years and check the pulse of technology and measure its progress.
Jumping out of the box is an objective every pioneering and forward-thinking coatings chemist or engineer likes to achieve. Modern and innovative coatings strive for an apparent breakthrough effect that imparts to the coating system an obvious added value. This ambition is driven by the general need for creating more cost-efficient products without turning them into commodities.
With energy savings paving the way, nanotechnology has come to the scene to help produce a set of properties that make UV-curable 100%-solids coatings even more attractive. Coating qualities include improved flow characteristics, reduced thinning on sharp edges and an even appearance. Nanoparticles can also increase the hiding power of these coatings by a factor of 20%.
Finding a cost-effective thermal barrier that is durable and friendly to the environment may seem like a search for the Holy Grail. But some commercial builders, school districts and property owners have discovered that all good things are possible – if you have the missing ingredient.
One of the cleanest, greenest buildings on Earth has officially opened in Australia, with Akzo Nobel having made an important contribution to its environmentally conscious design.
The combination of silver or silver with isothiazoline gives a new and very effective preservative system. By using this combination, the amount of sensitizing isothiazoline can be significantly reduced and, if an excess of benzisothiazoline is used, the well-known photosensitivity of silver compounds is reduced. This combination is a highly effective and safe new preservative system for coatings.
The Lubrizol Corporation is expanding its presence in China by investing approximately US$40 million (equivalent to approximately RMB 310 million) to build a facility in Songjiang, just -outside of Shanghai.
Several pigment combinations are suitable for the formulation of green color shades. For economic reasons, “complementary pigment combinations” are often used. These are green shades that are generated by mixing yellow and blue pigments. However, these mixtures may bear significant risk in terms of weather fastness, especially when the fastness properties and the pigment concentrations are not balanced, or when the formulation contains a large portion of titanium dioxide. In combination with the effect of sunlight and weathering, all of this can lead to undesirable and unacceptable color changes in the coating.
Clariant undertook extensive tests to determine which pigment mixtures are suitable for outdoor use. Based on these tests, it could be demonstrated that different pigment mixtures generate color variations in green coatings, and suitable alternatives were identified. The results presented in this article for the color “green” can be generally transferred to other color shades.
Colloidal microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) has been used widely in the food and pharmaceutical industries to suspend dense particles, prevent phase separation and stabilize emulsions. This study demonstrates that colloidal MCC has the same functionalities in waterborne coatings. It significantly improves the in-can shelf stability of waterborne coatings without negatively impacting application properties.
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