Dow Coating Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, unveiled new RHOPLEX 800h Acrylic Binder at the Western Coatings Symposium, providing a solution to formulators seeking to improve hardness in architectural paints.

Created to allow for early hardness development in low-volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, the controlled polymer morphology technology employs hard, soft and functional monomers in a single waterborne acrylic binder to help improve hardness and block resistance in high-gloss and deep-tone architectural paints.

“The ongoing drive toward low- and zero-VOC capable coatings offers continuous opportunities for innovation, and as consumers seek brighter, more vibrant colors for their homes, we’re faced with solving the low-VOC hardness profile challenge,” said Fallyn Flaherty-Earp, North America architectural marketing manager, Dow Coating Materials. “Hardness and block resistance are difficult to achieve in low-VOC formulations, particularly in high-gloss and deep-tone paints with low pigment volume concentration (PVC). RHOPLEX 800h Binder facilitates formulation flexibility, helping create ultra-low-VOC, binder-rich, deep colored paints that have excellent hardness and tack, as well as block, print and scrape resistance.”

To overcome these challenges, approaches for developing new binder technology were focused on investigating post film formation crosslinking chemistries and latex particle morphology optimization.

“We designed experiments to help us understand structure-property relationships between binder compositions and formulation variables,” said Partha Majumdar, associate research scientist, Dow Coating Materials. “Predictive models from the experimental designs were used to optimize binder compositions. Optimized binders showed a significant improvement in hardness profile and maintained the balance of properties in low PVC formulations.”

Majumdar will address this experimental technique and results today at 2:50 p.m. during a technical presentation at the Western Coatings Symposium. For a full listing of Dow presentations at the 2015 Western Coatings Symposium, stop by the Dow Coating Materials booth (#200) or visit www.dowcoatingmaterials.com/wcs.

Coatings formulated with RHOPLEX 800h Binder, compared to those formulated with competitive binders, show improved tack resistance and demonstrate excellent scrape and print resistance – important qualities for trim surfaces, windows and door frames.

Ultra-low VOC paint formulations have tended to be either too soft or too hard, with the former resulting in poor block and tack resistance and the latter resulting in poor scrape resistance. RHOPLEX 800h Binder will help address the growing consumer demand for deep-tone paints that offer smooth application, dry quickly and maintain a glossy, hard finish without cracking.

“Manufactured without the use of APEO surfactants or solvents, RHOPLEX 800h is setting a new standard for premium performance low-VOC paints. Formulators no longer have to compromise between low-VOC and creating a deep-tone or high-gloss coating with excellent hardness and block resistance,” said Flaherty-Earp.