Many amines on the market claim to be multifunctional, but there are very few that offer a full range of capabilities. When selecting a multifunctional amine for waterborne coatings, there are some key things to look for. Excellent co-dispersion, viscosity stability, film performance, physical properties and additive optimization are all important considerations when using a multifunctional amine.

Co-Dispersion: Paving the Way for Improved Paint Performance

When seeking a multifunctional amine, it’s important to make sure the product is a high-quality co-dispersant. Effective and efficient co-dispersion is one of the most important qualities of a multifunctional amine because it improves stability and lays the foundation for the best optical properties. Improved color acceptance, opacity, whiteness and gloss are all directly correlated to this enhanced dispersion.

An effective multifunctional amine will efficiently absorb to the pigmentation in the paint formulation, enhancing dispersion and creating an opportunity for lower dose rates. When less product is necessary to achieve the same result, cost-saving benefits can be achieved. Customers using multifunctional amines can often realize more than 10 percent dose efficiency compared to monofunctional bases. Additionally, it’s important to use a product that can maintain its dispersion and viscosity stability throughout the life of the paint. From manufacture, to storage to application, the formulation should never be subject to changes that could affect its appearance for the end user.

Film Performance: Achieving a Range of Properties with One Product

An efficient dispersion lays the groundwork for the highest quality optical and film performance of the end product. There are various desirable film properties, but one of the most important is achieved through the ability to reduce water-sensitive components from the film. Most dispersants and surfactants contain 25 – 50% non-volatile, hygroscopic components that remain in the dried paint film and contribute to poor scrub resistance and water spotting. With a multifunctional amine that disperses efficiently and allows for the reduction of these hygroscopic components, customers can realize improved scrub resistance, water resistance and reduced water spotting of the film.

Blocking is another unwanted characteristic that an efficient multifunctional amine can help reduce. Blocking is the tendency of painted surfaces to adhere to one another, creating deficient performance of the final film. When using a multifunctional amine that has balanced physical properties, you can achieve a controlled release so the additive will remain in the film long enough to offer a range of advantages, but will not remain in the film for a prolonged period of time. Bases that remain latent in the dried film are the ones that contribute to lower block performance.

Maintaining excellent film properties also requires that additives do not contribute to yellowing. As they age, many paint components become subject to this unwanted variation in color because of their exposure to light and other factors related to the environmental conditions in which they exist. A multifunctional additive that remains stable in the formulation will not go through this yellowing color shift. In an industry where there are thousands of tinted colors on the market, prevention of yellowing is paramount, as any slight change in undertone can lead to customer complaints.

High gloss is an important attribute of paint as well, and a multifunctional amine that provides complete dispersion and stabilization of the prime pigments will maximize optical performance. In an extremely competitive industry, it’s this performance that helps coatings manufacturers stay ahead of the competition.

Optimum Physical Properties: Offer Excellent Neutralization and Low Odor

Physical properties are also important to consider when selecting a multifunctional amine for water-based paint formulations. Odor control is key to achieving a marketable product, as customers in recent years have taken a strong aversion to any paints with ammonical or amine odors. Similarly, a multifunctional amine with excellent base strength and low molecular weight will offer optimum benefits when neutralizing acidic components in the formulation.

AMP™ Multifunctional Amine for Architectural Paints

Historically, it has been difficult to achieve optimum performance in a formulation with a monofunctional amine. To do so has required the use of multiple additives that each performed various functions. But with the multifunctional AMP™ (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) co-dispersant and neutralizing amine from ANGUS Chemical Company, coatings manufacturers have the opportunity to achieve multiple formulation goals with a single product.

AMP is an extremely efficient multifunctional amine, providing the performance needed to achieve the best dispersion, alkalinity control and film integrity, with the lowest odor, to meet today’s regulatory challenges. This multifunctionality makes it possible to reduce cost and still obtain performance that is equal to, or better than, that of similar paint formulations that do not contain AMP. AMP provides a coatings industry standard for performance. Its efficiency allows for lower levels of other additives like anionic dispersants, defoamers, wet-edge agents and surfactants, which results in economic savings by way of a decrease in dosages.

Conclusion

AMP co-dispersant and neutralizing amine has been used around the world to solve multiple formulation challenges for both latex and alkyd coatings, as well as a host of other applications. This multifunctionality has brought cost-saving and performance-enhancing benefits to paint manufacturers around the globe, necessitating a multi-million dollar capacity expansion at ANGUS’s manufacturing plants. Now, with readily available supply, ANGUS is fully prepared to service coatings manufacturers with the multifunctional co-dispersant and neutralizing amine, AMP.

For more information on AMP, visit www.ANGUS.com.