surface coating

surface coating, any mixture of film-forming materials plus pigments, solvents, and other additives, which, when applied to a surface and cured or dried, yields a thin film that is functional and often decorative. Surface coatings include paints, drying oils and varnishes, synthetic clear coatings, and other products whose primary function is to protect the surface of an object from the environment. These products can also enhance the aesthetic appeal of an object by accentuating its surface features or even by concealing them from view.

Most surface coatings employed in industry and by consumers are based on synthetic polymers—that is, industrially produced substances composed of extremely large, often interconnected molecules that form tough, flexible, adhesive films when applied to surfaces. The other component materials of surface coatings are pigments, which provide colour, opacity, gloss, and other properties; solvents or carrier liquids, which provide a liquid medium for applying the film-forming ingredients; and additives, which provide a number of special properties. This article reviews the composition and film-forming properties of polymer-based surface coatings, beginning with the polymer ingredients and continuing through the pigments, liquids, and additives. The emphasis is on paints (by far the most common type of coating), though occasional reference is made to other types of coatings such as drying oils and varnishes. For a fuller understanding of polymeric compounds, which form the basis of surface coatings, the reader is advised to begin with the article industrial polymers, chemistry of. For an overview of the position of surface coatings within the broader field of industrial polymers, see Industrial Polymers: Outline of Coverage.

Polymers for surface coatings

Polymer-based surface coatings can be considered to be two-phase composite materials consisting of pigment particles and other additives dispersed in a continuous matrix of polymer. Polymers provide the coating film its capacity to adhere to the substrate, most of its chemical resistance, and flexibility. In addition, the continuity of the film, much of its durability in the presence of environmental stresses, its gloss properties, most of its mechanical and thermal properties, and most of any chemical reactivity that the film will exhibit are dependent on polymers as well.

The key properties of the coating polymer are molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, glass transition temperature (T_g), and solubility. Also important are the reactive molecular groups making up the polymer and the kinetics and mechanism by which the polymer is formed—that is, whether it is formed by step-growth polymerization or chain-growth polymerization. (These two polymerization reactions are described in detail in the article industrial polymers, chemistry of). Another key attribute of the polymer is its structure. Polymers can have linear, branched, or network architectures (see Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C of industrial polymers, chemistry of). The latter type of structure, consisting of polymer chains bonded covalently at several sites to form a three-dimensionally cross-linked network, is often formed in the coating film during its curing.

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Step-growth and chain-growth polymers

Step-growth polymers include polyesters, epoxies, polyurethanes, polyamides, melamine, and phenolic resins. They are formed most often by reactions between two dissimilar monomers—acids and alcohols in the case of polyesters. This general class of polymers is used widely in the field of organic coatings. Chain-growth polymers are built up by the opening of carbon-carbon double (or sometimes triple) bonds within the monomers and the successive addition of similar monomers onto the ends of a growing chain. Prominent chain-growth polymers in the area of coatings are polyethylene, polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, and polyvinyl chloride.

When used in nonreactive form, chain-growth polymers are usually thermoplastic, high-molecular-weight materials. In some cases, however, carboxylic acid, alcohol, epoxy, amine, amino, and other reactive groups can be incorporated into chain-growth polymers. With such reactive functionality on the polymer chain, these materials can be used in low-molecular-weight form as coreactants in cross-linking systems.

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For coatings use, one specific chain-growth polymerization method is utilized extensively—the latex, or emulsion, process. In its simplest form (as shown in Figure 1), the emulsion process involves stabilizing large droplets of a monomer (or monomers) in water using a soap as a surface-acting agent, or surfactant. A water-soluble free-radical initiator is added, forming the latex particles by polymerization within small aggregates, called micelles, that are formed by the surfactant. Because latex coatings are applied as aqueous dispersions of polymer, their use is largely solvent-free, and they are very attractive for retail because they can be cleaned up with soap and water, are very easy to apply, and are durable. Latex polymers form films by particle-particle coalescence processes, discussed below.