Novel Acrylic Polymer for Architectural Exterior

By Kaliappa Ragunathan, Punit Thakkar

Architectural exterior coatings are subject to very harsh environmental elements. Extreme conditions like cold and hot temperatures, low and high humidity, and rain and snow test the ability of coatings to withstand cracking, limit water absorption, prevent leaching of materials from the surface, and adhere to multiple substrates. Another detrimental source of damage are UV rays, which induce polymer chain degradation leading to chalking and erosion of the coatings layer.

Surface coatings are also subject to dirt and mildew growth resulting in a dirty appearance. When designing a polymer for exterior coatings, inventors must carefully consider the above destructive forces. Professional and do-it-yourself (DIY) painters increasingly care about efficiency—reducing the time and labor involved in painting surfaces. Paints with paint and primer in one capabilities help reduce the time and labor of painting jobs, so developing a polymer that provides both primer and topcoat properties is necessary, but also challenging.

This objective further raises the performance requirement for the exterior polymer.