Dispersants in the Paint and Coatings Industry
Dispersants have long played an important role in the paints and coatings industry. These highly specialized additives are typically used to wet, disperse, and stabilize solid particles in a variety of continuous phases within a coating, reducing the product’s viscosity and increasing its stability overall. They are important for ensuring optimal performance of the coating as well as enhancing the aesthetics.
What are dispersants?
Typical dispersants are two-component polymeric structures consisting of an anchoring group and a polymeric chain. The anchor allows the dispersant to connect to the particles within the mixture, while the polymeric chain offers stability. Dispersants for paints and coatings can be broken up into three basic groups:
- Dispersants that increase the coating’s performance in color strength and gloss, while also improving its compatibility with other additives and overall stability.
- Dispersants that act as process aids for pigment wetting by decreasing dispersion times and controlling the mill-base viscosity.
- Dispersants that affect the coating formulation for higher pigment loading, offering better color stability and improved rheology control.
Overall, this type of additive serves a few specific functions. It keeps the pigments and fillers stable until the paint is applied to the substrate, breaks up clumps of pigment to ensure a uniform concentration throughout the coating, and stabilizes the overall dispersion, preventing issues such as flocculation, settling, flooding or floating.
Gellner’s water-based acrylic polymers for dispersions
Gellner Industrial has developed a wide range of water-based acrylic polymers that act as dispersants for a wide range of paints and coatings.
- Ottopol CS-58 is an excellent binder for house paints and pigment dispersion in many types of inks and coatings. TDS | SDS
- Ottopol M-49 is an acrylic emulsion polymer that has been neutralized with Dimethylethanolamine for excellent pigment wetting and improved aging stability of the coating. TDS | SDS
- The Ottopol 25 Series meets high industry standards when used as a dispersion stabilizer or in pigment wetting applications and offers superior adhesion to a variety of substrates.
- Ottopol M-30 TDS | SDS
- Ottopol G-35 offers excellent flow and leveling to coatings, and can easily meet high industry standards when used as a dispersion stabilizer or pigment wetter. TDS | SDS
Interested in Gellner’s products?
Gellner Industrial is a premiere manufacturer of water-based acrylic resins for a wide range of applications and industries. For more information about what we can do for you, check out our website or browse our storefront on Knowde for a full list of our products.
