International. At this year's European Coatings Show, which took place in Nuremberg from 19 to 21 March, Lanxess presented its comprehensive product portfolio for the coatings industry focused on innovative raw materials to formulate aqueous systems for a wide range of applications, from fiberglass sizing and plastic coating to textile finishing or vehicle painting.
Lanxess water-based systems enable customers in the coatings industry to comply with increasingly demanding regulations, for example on volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but also to develop high-performance products that meet the needs of modern applications.
The Trixene Aqua range of water-based blocked isocyanate dispersions are excellent cross-linkers and adhesion promoters for aqueous coating systems. They increase the chemical and mechanical resistance of coatings and sizing formulations to enable much better performance and durability in the final application. Due to the blocked isocyanate group, they are more stable than the respective free counterparts and can be easily formulated into 1-K and 2-K systems along with a variety of complementary aqueous resins, for example, hydroxy-functional acrylics, polyesters and urethanes.
This is beneficial, for example, in textile processing, where Trixene Aqua BI 220 can be used as an adhesion promoter for water-repellent finishes in sportswear and fashion, providing superior durability. Similarly, Trixene Aqua BI 201 can be used as a cross-linking for transparent layers for automobiles, resulting in better chipping resistance and an optical appearance.
Together with Trixene Aqua, Lanxess offers a complete portfolio of Witcobond water-based polyurethane dispersions (PUDs). The company, especially for fiberglass sizing, has developed qualities with high solids content that offer superior filament bonding in fiber and composite processing, and outstanding physical properties in the final application. For example, Witcobond 374-13, a polyester-based polyurethane dispersion, confers excellent integrity for the production of cut strands and good adhesion to various thermoplastic and thermoset matrices. In combination with Lanxess' latest development of Trixene Aqua BI 202, the system improves the bond between the glass strand and various resin matrices used in advanced composites.
Witcobond products can be used in a wide range of other applications, for water-based coatings and finishes for hard and flexible substrates. They encompass anionic, cationic, and non-ionic chemistry, so binders covering the entire pH range are available. The extensive list includes products with high solids with up to 60 percent solids, dispersions with low or no co-solvent content, including products without N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), and grades free of non-ionic surfactants such as alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEO) or more specifically, nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEO).
