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In this study, the focus is on the spray behavior of latex coatings thickened with structurally different surfactant-modified, water-soluble polymers (associative thickeners of the hydrophobically modified, ethoxylated urethane [HEUR] type). Particle image velocimetry (PIV) profiles are considered in the perspective of the dynamic uniaxial extensional viscosity (DUEV) of the coatings and an effort to understand the results in terms of the structural aspects of the thickener molecules is undertaken. A high-M v hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) thickened formulation, with a significant DUEV, does not atomize well. Among the HEUR thickeners, the addition of larger hydrophobes in the terminal positions requires less thickener to achieve a 90 KU viscosity and produces lower DUEVs and lower viscosities at high-shear rates. This is necessary to produce formulations with acceptable spray characteristics (i.e., good atomization). The sprayability of these systems is reflected in their velocity profiles and particle size/particle size distributions. Poorer spray characteristics are reflected in ligaments and broad particles size distributions. This study highlights the ability to control the particle size/ size distribution and velocity profiles of coatings formulations through the use of structurally different HEUR associative thickeners. Variations in sprayability among different nozzle geometries are also studied.

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Oxyethylene (PEO)/oxypropylene (PPO) triblock polymers are added to colorant formulations to determine the influence of molecular weight and other structural variances on the rheology and color development of tinted latex paints. Waterborne coatings are a matrix of many coating components. In this study, a 108-or a 600-nm latex was thickened with a nonassociative thickener, hydroxyethyl cellulose, or an associative telechelic HEUR thickener. Triblock polymers with internal PPO segments and PEO terminal segments added as a dispersant to colorant packages, lead to better color development than PPO/PEO/PPO triblocks dispersants in carbon black (CB) tinted paints. The increase in color development with high molecular weight (MW) triblocks starts at a very low concentration (2 mM) and plateaus in a Langmuir-type adsorption isotherm. Lower molecular weight triblock polymers also exhibit this behavior in CB-, red-, and yellow-tinted latex coatings; however, increasing the terminal PEO segment sizes leads to better color development only in the CB-tinted coatings. With large PEO terminal units red and yellow tints are high only at very low concentrations (2 mM) of the triblock. This parabolic response in color development, in contrast to CB-tinted formulations, is attributed to the high surface area and porosity of CB that limits the amount of large PEO segments interacting with the talc particle present at twice the volume fraction of the colorant. With the lower surface areas of the red and yellow colorants, the interaction of the large PEO terminal segments with talc particles accounts for the limited triblock concentration for which good color development is observed. This can be reversed by decreasing or eliminating talc from the formulation.