D. Klimovich, Sherwin-Williams Company, Cleveland, OH; N. Jain, Sherwin-Williams Company, Warrensville, OH
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is now an established tool for the characterization of surfaces in various applications such as polymers, biomedical, and coatings. It gives higher resolution in the ‘z’ direction relative to even Field Emission SEM.
At the Sherwin-Williams Company, AFM is in many ways a complementary technique to SEM and TEM, which are older, even more established tools. These three techniques have helped us solve problems in the areas of durability, film formation of emulsion paints, and other structure-properties-process relationships. We are using AFM to determine degradation phenomena as films are weathered or abraded.
In this paper, we will present time studies of weathered films of several types of paint (polyester, epoxy, polyurethane) that are either artificially (QUV) or naturally weathered. We will also look at film formation of architectural coatings and discuss how this is related to emulsion composition and additives.
This paper will present time studies of weathered films of several paints (polyester, epoxy, polyurethane) that are either artificially (QUV) or naturally weathered and analyzed by AFM and SEM. We will also look at film formation of architectural coatings and discuss how this is related to emulsion composition and additives.
