Inquiries

Waterborne coating performance Product Development Department of Company Z, a coating manufacturer

Improved Film Strength and Flexibility

Acrylic emulsion design guide for optimal performance

Inks & Coatings
Adhesion, Bonding, and Tack Environmental Friendliness Durability/stability

Company Z is a manufacturer that produces and sells various formulated coating products for different markets. Researcher R (hereafter ,"R") , who is in his third year at the company, has been tasked with developing a water-based coating formulation that complies with VOC emission regulations.

Challenges

Due to safety considerations and VOC emission control, high levels of coating film performance are required for water-based coating formulations...

Company Z has decided to develop a coating for a new application, and R and his team are informed of the development direction by his boss.

"Management wanted us to design it to be water-based rather than solvent-based due to safety considerations and the need to reduce VOC emissions. Up until now, we'd mainly developed solvent-based products, so we felt we needed to do some research to address the characteristics of water-based coating agents." (R said)

In addition, since sufficient weather resistance and water resistance were required, R and his team  chose acrylic emulsion resin as the base resin.

"When using an emulsion resin as a base, the paint film would become sticky after drying, then it would get dirty easily, and we had to balance the strength and flexibility of the dried paint film," said R.

As development proceeded, several issues emerged, such as the product's viscosity and coatability. At that time,  R bumped into W, a senior employee from another department, in the break room. When W asked him, "How are you doing?", he remembered that W had been considering acrylic emulsion resins for other projects, and decided to consult with him.

"I'm working on developing a coating formulation for a new application based on acrylic emulsion resin, but I'm having a hard time... I think you've worked with acrylic emulsions in the past, so could you give me some advice?", R said to W.

In response, the senior employee said, "I once considered using resins from Nippon Shokubai for a previous product I was in charge of, and because they have a good reputation for their acrylic emulsion technology, they made a lot of great suggestions. Recently, they also posted a page that explains emulsion technology in detail, which is very educational. I'll share the URL with you later!"

Key Challenges

  • Due to safety considerations and the need to reduce VOC emissions, it was decided to develop a water-based coating agent instead of a solvent-based one.

  • Because weather resistance and water resistance are required, it was decided to use an acrylic emulsion resin as the base.

  • Many issues have arisen with previous resins evaluated for this application, such as stickiness of the coating after drying, resistance to contamination, and balancing the strength and flexibility of the coating.

Solutions

Solution Summary

  • Nippon Shokubai offers a variety of acrylic emulsions that can be used for a wide range of applications, including paints, coatings, and adhesives.

  • There is a web page providing a guide to acrylic emulsions from basics to applications, where I was able to learn more about their characteristics and the design of their core-shell structures.

  • Nippon Shokubai 's acrylic emulsion design technology has helped resolve several issues, such as balancing strength and flexibility after film formation, preventing stickiness of the coating, and improving stain resistance.

Nippon Shokubai provides an easy-to-understand guide to acrylic emulsions! We found a clue to solving our challenges...

"When I looked at the website that W recommended, I found a page where I could learn the basics of acrylic emulsion and easily understand its characteristics and application examples.

It was my first time working with acrylic emulsion resin, so I was troubled because I didn't know what to do...but the Nippon Shokubai website covered everything from the basics and included many illustrations, which helped me deepen my knowledge," recalls R.

"Many of their resins have a core-shell structure, which is soft on the outside and hard on the inside, and it has excellent film-forming properties, and I knew this was something I could look forward to using to get the properties I needed. Nippon Shokubai is able to precisely control the structure of the emulsion, so I had the impression that they could be trusted in terms of resin design, and I immediately contacted them through the inquiry form." (R said)

Then, I received a call from a product manager at Nippon Shokubai. After I explained the problem I was facing, he said, "We believe our emulsion technology can solve your problem. Would you like to meet with us for a deeper discussion?"

A few days later, the planning and research staff came to visit us, and during the meeting, we explained in detail the desired properties, such as the strength of the coating film and weather resistance required for our application. Nippon Shokubai agreed to consider the matter and make product recommendations to us, and we were able to get moving in earnest.　

After a while, when I evaluated the samples I had obtained, I was able to confirm that the coating properties and finished film performance were as expected, and I felt that the development was making great progress. I reported this to my superiors, and we are now moving forward with commercialization using Nippon Shokubai 's acrylic emulsion resin, while also conducting long-term durability tests.

Guide to Acrylic Emulsion referenced  by R