New Developments in Vinyl Acetate-ethylene (VAe) Copolymers for Use in Architectural Coatings

By Rajeev Farwaha, S. Krieger, K. Gohr, H. Petri, T. Fichtner

Vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymers (VAEs) have steadily gained market acceptance and share in the last decade as binders in the coatings industry, predominantly in flat, interior, low-emission decorative paints. Although well-established in the market, they still show above average growth rates compared to the total market for water-based binders for paints and coatings in North America.*

Today, as the world embraces “green technology” and consumers opt for products with a lower carbon footprint, new technology in the form of vinyl acetate-ethylene acrylic inclusion emulsions will enable the paint manufacturer to formulate low-VOC exterior paints without sacrificing performance. The case for VAE-based emulsions is strong. VAE emulsions exhibit good pigment binding and hiding power, two critical application properties for flat interior paints.

They can also formulate well with many different pigmenting systems, giving broad latitude to the chemist. In deep tone paints, vinyl-based emulsions (including VAE) offer excellent color retention. However, traditional VAE emulsions could not compete with exterior paints because of deficiencies in dirt pickup behavior. The new inclusion technology addresses this issue.