New Urethane Diol Resin Modifiers for Improved Performance of Aminoplast Crosslinked Coatings

By Matthew Gadman, John Florio, Ravi Ravichandran, Steven Woltornist

New water-soluble urethane diol resins have been developed to be used as resin modifiers for waterborne  coatings systems crosslinked with amino resins. These urethane diols are a multipurpose chemical species that can be utilized to enhance performance properties as well as resolve some of the common issues experienced when formulating waterborne systems.
The above-mentioned resin modifiers are water soluble without the presence of amine neutralizers, surfactants, or co-solvents. Incorporating these urethane diols will thus improve the water solubility of a resin system in a wet paint, subsequently reducing the need for neutralizing amines and additionally allowing for easier resin incorporation with less co-solvent requirements. As resin modifiers, the urethane back-bone allows formulators to enhance performance of aminoplast crosslinked coatings by incorporating urethane groups into a crosslinked network without the use of an isocyanate.

This work demonstrates the versatility of these urethane diols and further discusses how they can be used to enhance coating performance by improving corrosion and humidity resistance, as well as increasing hardness while maintaining flexibility.