Development and Evaluation of Nano-Silica Dispersed Polyurethane Based Coatings for Improved Anti-Graffiti and Scratch Resistance

Abstract

Polyurethane based anti-graffiti coatings have been developed by incorporating varying amounts of OH-functional Silicone modified polyacrylate. Optimization of Silicone polyacrylate concentration in neat PU was done by testing its performance for graffiti resistance. Tests which include static contact angle measurements with water and spray paint, visual inspection of stain removal and color change measurements were performed. It was observed that 5 wt % of Silicone polyacrylate in the neat PU showed 95% stain removability. These coatings showed excellent graffiti resistance but poor mechanical properties. Hence modification of these coatings was done by nano-particle incorporation. Nano-silica particle concentration was optimized for surface mechanical properties such as surface hardness, elastic modulus and scratch resistance. FEG-TEM revealed that nano-silica particles were uniformly distributed over the surface. 5 wt % nano-silica particle additions in PU-5 wt % silicone polyacrylate base showed superior mechanical properties than other concentrations. Color change measurements showed that nano-silica particle addition had no effect on its graffiti resistance. Hence PU-5 wt % silicone polyacrylate, 5 wt % nano-silica showed excellent graffiti resistance and mechanical properties.