Preparation and application of the water‐based acrylic self‐polishing resin: Good storage stability, good film‐forming matrix of marine antifouling coatings

Abstract

AbstractIn order to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), it is of great practical significance to develop water‐based self‐polishing antifouling coatings instead of traditional acrylic self‐polishing antifouling coatings. However, when preparing film forming matrix resin emulsions for water‐based antifouling coatings, the use of emulsifiers in large amounts causes film‐forming defects and poor adhesion. Herein, soap‐free emulsion polymerization is utilized to prepare resin emulsions by copolymerization of hydrophilic monomers, lipophilic monomers and polymerizable hydrophilic ionic monomers. The hydrophilic structure can give the water‐based polymer self‐emulsification function to maintain the stability of the emulsion and can promote the fusion between the latex particles by forming hydrogen bonds and coordination bonds, and its connection with the pigments and fillers in the coating can also promote the excellent film formation of the coating. The experimental results show that the water‐based self‐polishing antifouling resin emulsion has good storage stability and compatibility with the pigments and fillers. The coatings formulated using this emulsion as the film‐forming matrix firmly adhered to substrates and displayed satisfactory antifouling performance even after being exposed to a real sea environment for 18 months. This study presents a simple approach for the development of water‐based resin emulsion with good storage stability and good water‐based self‐polishing marine antifouling coatings.