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Novel Matting Agent for Low Gloss UV Coatings
Abstract
While many technical advances have been made to produce low gloss, radiation curable clear coatings, they still present a challenge for most UV coatings manufacturers. Matting agents have been developed where particle size, treatment and structure have been modified to achieve low gloss. In this development, the combination of specific amorphous, synthetic silica combined with a specific polydimethylsiloxane surface treatment was found to improve efficacy. Based on this experience, a new product especially designed for low gloss, high transparency and low viscosity was developed for UV Coatings. This paper features results comparing this new generation of matting agent to the matting technology considered “state of the art†in UV application. The focus will be on gloss versus viscosity behavior. Photomicroscopy based on REM and TEM-Thin-Cut is also used to demonstrate the performance of this unique new technology.