New developments in graphene additives are addressing regulatory pressures for safer and more environmentally sustainable paints and coatings.
Applied Graphene Materials, the producer of specialty graphene materials, say they have achieved significant technological progress on the deployment of graphene into water-based coatings to enhance their barrier properties.
Water-based coating development remains a focus for industry formulators. This push is driven by the continuing tightening of regulations brought in to lessen the detrimental impact that solvent- based coatings have on both worker health and the environment. As the technology for water-based coatings continues to evolve, one of the key challenges that remains is to significantly improve their anti-corrosion performance. In doing so, this will fully extend their use away from decorative applications into broader industrial protective coatings.
Over recent years AGM has proven the outstanding barrier and anti-corrosion performance gains possible by incorporating graphene into solvent-based coating systems using its Genable® dispersion technology. This has been demonstrated with several commercial products reaching industrial end-user markets. However, effective incorporation of graphene into water-based systems has previously proven more problematic due to interrelated issues around materials compatibility and film formation.
This water-based breakthrough is again based on AGM’s platform Genable® technology, a range of master dispersions that are designed to facilitate the easy incorporation of graphene into coating formulations and existing processes. Genable® dispersions are fully scalable industrial products and, based on initial findings, the addition levels required to significantly enhance anti-corrosion performance in water-based systems are low enough to ensure commercial viability, even in light industrial applications.
Adrian Potts, CEO of Applied Graphene Materials, said: “A key driver for coatings developers to upgrade their product formulations is increasing regulatory pressure to improve the environmental impact and safety of their products. This is why AGM is working to replicate the success we have already achieved with the incorporation of our Genable® products into solvent-based products with its incorporation into water-based products. We are delighted to be able to present significant technological progress to our customers, reaffirming AGM as the leader in the development of cutting-edge graphene applications tailored to add significant value for paints and coatings manufacturers.”
While the findings being shared publicly are in a commercial acrylic DTM (Direct-to-Metal) coating, AGM believes that water-based Genable® technology could, with considered formulating, equally well be adopted into epoxy chemistries and likewise into more complex formulated primer systems.