Coatings

Coatings are one of the pillars of ARC CBBC: the consortium has the intention to enable a ‘greener’ approach to the design and manufacturing of paints and coatings, thereby aiming for a more sustainable future. By rethinking the way chemical building blocks could be applied in future coatings, we will explore new chemistry for the purpose of product enhancement.

We will make polymer films more durable and easier curable, adding functionalities as fouling prevention and for the purpose of enhancing the sustainability profile of paints and lacquers. This will also enable the replacement of crude oil-based chemicals for renewable resources, using environmentally-benign and human-friendly components.

We are working on sustainably sourced carbon building blocks for coating binders, as well as on novel homogeneous catalysts to produce these advanced and functional coatings. Novel molecules are expected not only to improve coating performance and green coating production, but also to contribute to a more sustainable use of coated materials in general.

Flagship projects on Coatings

Cross-linking in waterborne coatings with new building blocks

ARC CBBC aims to replace fossil-based feedstock with bio-based materials and to further develop water-based paints. It will reduce the market share of the traditional solvent-based paints and lacquers. Additionally, we want to improve product properties. AkzoNobel, BASF, and Nouryon all contribute with their product knowledge on coatings and are hopeful that the expertise in chemical synthesis, chemical conversion and catalysis, colloid chemistry, and bio-based materials, all particular strengths of the academic research groups in the Netherlands, will contribute to design the coatings of the future.

Ben Feringa

Professor of Organic chemistry
University of Groningen

André van Linden

Director Coatings technology
AkzoNobel Decorative Paints

Bilateral projects on Coatings

Smart waterborne coatings with tunable barrier properties

Waterborne acrylic emulsion polymers are widely used coating materials due to their excellent properties and low cost. Although good barrier properties for a variety of migrants can be achieved, their performance is often insufficient for highly demanding applications due to their intrinsic non-zero permeability for both polar and non-polar migrants. Barrier properties can be enhanced by blending in impermeable materials. Following an entirely new strategy, in the current proposal we develop unprecedented polymer coatings having tunable barrier properties allowing selective interception of migrants.

Polyester synthesis using novel and efficient esterification catalysts

Aim of this project is to develop new catalysts for polyester syntheses with an attractive environmental and economic profile. These catalysts will lead to more eco-friendly processes and will broaden the scope of raw materials (including renewable-based raw materials) that can be used in polyester syntheses.

Cobalt-free curing of alkyds and of vinylester-styrene coatings

Many coatings dry via chemical crosslinking reactions, which are catalyzed by transition metal complexes. The toxicity of some of these metals is under review currently. In this project, we will search for alternative catalysts based on transition metals that avoid potential toxicity.