Surfactants in Coatings and Paint Applications

Several properties of the surfactants and their applications in waterborne coatings and paint formulations were discussed. These formulations are in colloidal form, which contained polymer as a binder, pigments, solvents, water and surfactants as stabilizers, emulsifiers, wetting agents, dispersants, defoamers etc. in order to obtain the desired performance properties of the coated films. The selection and performance of a given surfactant depend on the structure and functional groups. Alcohol ethoxylates, sulfosuccinates and alkanolamides are extensively used as emulsifying agents in latex formation and paint stabilization to reduce particle size in order to prevent settling of the dispersed phase. A method of paint evaluation and performance characterization was described in order to determine proper surfactant selection for optimum properties of the coating and paint films.