FAQ

Classification of Surfactants in Paint

According to their role, surfactants used in the coating industry can be classified into the following categories: emulsifiers, pigment surface treatment agents, pigment wetting dispersants, defoamers, leveling agents, antifungal agents, antistatic agents, gloss enhancers, and slip additives.

Application of Surfactants in Paint: Antistatic

Antistatic surfactants inhibit the generation of static charges by leaking static charges through different channels or reducing the friction coefficient. Generally, they are required to have the following characteristics:

Significant antistatic effect

Long-lasting antistatic effect

Good miscibility with the film-forming substance

Do not affect other properties of the coating, such as not causing the film to yellow

The principle of the textile antistatic agent is: using its cationic surfactant properties to absorb moisture from the air, causing self-polarization and forming an extremely thin conductive layer on the surface, which constitutes a leakage channel for static electricity. Therefore, its effectiveness depends on its own structure and the relative humidity of the environment.

Application of Surfactants in Paint: Leveling

To use leveling agents to improve the leveling properties of coatings, the following two factors can be considered:

Choose surfactants that can reduce the surface tension of the coating/film, thereby greatly improving the leveling properties of the coating.

Choose solvents that evaporate slowly and can reduce the viscosity of the coating application, improve the fluidity of the coating, extend the leveling time, and achieve final leveling.

Paint has four major components: pigments, binders, solvents, and additives. Pigments serve to give paint its color, texture, toughness, as well as determining if a paint is opaque or not. Common white pigments include titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Binders are the film forming component of a paint as it dries and affects the durability, gloss, and flexibility of the coating. Polyurethanes, polyesters, and acrylics are all examples of common binders. The solvent is the medium in which all other components of the paint are dissolved and evaporates away as the paint dries and cures. The solvent also modifies the curing rate and viscosity of the paint in its liquid state. There are two types of paint: solvent-borne and water-borne paints. Solvent-borne paints use organic solvents as the primary vehicle carrying the solid components in a paint formulation, whereas water-borne paints use water as the continuous medium. The additives that are incorporated into paints are a wide range of things which impart important effects on the properties of the paint and the final coating. Common paint additives are catalysts, thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, texturizers, biocides to fight bacterial growth, etc.