Development of renewable impermeable polymeric coatings for elastic floorings with barrier function against permeative soil components
IGF 16834 N
Floorcare products are used in practice for increasing lifetime and maintaining optical appearance of elastic floorings. Temporary coatings of elastic floorings protect them from scratches, abrasion, tracks and improve their cleanability. At longer contact times, some soilings (e.g. iodine containing disinfectants, hair tinting lotions, shoepolishs, fats and mineral oils) migrate through applied polymeric coatings into the top layer of floorings itself and floorings get irreparably damaged. Furthermore, discolorations can also be caused by exchanging of plasticizers between dark colored furniture gliders, car tyres, bicylce tyres and elastic floorings. For avoiding irreparable damages, permeating soilings have to be removed from elastic floorings immediately.
In a research wfk-research project two different solutions for improving barrier function of polymer coatings were investigated. One solution based on extending diffusion path by embedding inorganic barrier pigments in the lowest layer of conventional anionic polymer coating, which is in direct contact to flooring. Typical conventional polymer coatings consist of three layers. In the second approach a cationic polymer layer was integrated between two layers of commercially available floorcare products with the aim to function as “soiling trap”.
Permeation of selected soilings (especially hair tinting lotions) through conventional polymeric coatings was reduced by both modifying the lowest layer with barrier pigments and integrating a cationic compound. Detectable soiling residues were dependent on kind of soiling, applied conventional floorcare product, kind and concentration of barrier pigment, resp. cationic polymer dispersion.
The developed polymer coating with barrier function against permeative soil components did not cause changes in brightness and color of elastic flooring. A low reduction of gloss was observed in comparison to unmodified coating. Furthermore, an impact on adhesive strength, abrasion resistance and slip resistance was not detected.
The IGF-project 16834 N of the research association Europäische Forschungsgemeinschaft Reinigungs- und Hygienetechnologie e.V., Campus Fichtenhain 11, D-47807 Krefeld, was supported via the AiF within the funding programme „Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung und –entwicklung (IGF)“ by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology (BMWi) due to a decision of the German Parliament.
The research report is available on request from FRT.