April 2021

TOC ... Table of Contents

F E AT U R E S
4 One Evolutionary Path of
Organofunctional Silanes:
AlkoxySilane Functional
Silicones and their Applications

8 GMI: Concrete Surface

Treatment Chemicals Market
Size Worth $15 Billion by 2025

10 Anti-Graffiti Coatings Market to

Witness a CAGR of 4% through
2029; Finds PMR Study

12 New Advances in UV-Curable

Soft-Touch Coatings

16 Haptic Coatings

2 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021

 Editor’s Page FEATURE

Silanes: Used in a Variety of

Coatings Applications

W
hen formulating paint and coatings silanes are used to increase resis-
tance to abrasion as well as increase adhesion, thermal stability and
crosslinking.
Uses for silanes are diverse and include leather treatments, concrete treat-
ments, roof coatings, adhesion promoters, and anti-graffiti coatings.
“One Evolutionary Path of Organofunctional Silanes: AlkoxySilane Functional
Silicones and their Applications” explores how silane properties today are often
better provided by several oligomeric and polymer solutions which can also pro-
vide new properties such as haptic or soft-touch coatings.
“New Advances in UV-Curable Soft-Touch Coatings” explores how soft-touch
or soft-feel coatings are employed to create a variety of haptic effects on plas-
tic, paper and metal substrates. Haptic effects can improve a consumer’s per-
ceived value of the product, and influence them to buy the product over other
similar products.
“Haptic Coatings: A New and Selective 3D Coating Technology” explores a
new and selective additive 3D coating technology developed and implemented for
mass production. Besides attractive visual design opportunities, a strong focus is
on the touch experience of final products. Haptic perceptions can be controlled
by application of selective multi-layer 3D textures, by the shape and thickness of
these 3D textures, and by the coating formulation itself. A key market for these
types of coatings are textiles for the sporting goods market.
This book also contains market data on the concrete surface treatment chemi-
cals market and anti-graffiti coatings market.

kpianoforte@rodmanmedia.com

April 2021 ­www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 3

FEATURE

One Evolutionary Path of Organofunctional Silanes:

AlkoxySilane Functional
Silicones and their Applications
1
Tom-Seung Cheung, 2Mike Gunther, 3Bob Ruckle
Siltech Corporation
Toronto, ON Canada
1
Tom2@siltech.com, 2Michael.Gunther@siltech.com, 3Robert@siltech.com

difunctional dimethyl silanes are reacted of film forming emulsions are applied to

F
or many decades now, organofunc-
tional silanes have been used as
surface treatments, adhesion pro-
moters, dispersants or for cross linking
in condensation cured systems. These
monomeric materials are generically rep-
resented by (R1O)3Si-R2. The R1 alkoxy
groups are often methyl but ethyl, propyl,
and other alcohols are used and have the
effects of slowing down the reaction and
liberating less toxic alcohols.
The R2 group is varied quite a bit
more. Alkyl groups such as methyl or
octyl are commonly used as surface treat-
ments providing water repellency or parti-
cle dispersion. Water soluble groups such
as polyalkyleneoxide provide sheeting or
particle dispersion in aqueous systems.
Often R2 is reactive with all of the
reactive functionalities represented from
amine to NCO. These dual reactive mate-
rials are used to bond both with a surface
and with an organic resin, for example in
an adhesive to provide improved adhe-
sion. Also, these can be reacted first with
a resin setting it up for a secondary cure
when dried which gives improved proper-
ties such as tear strength, adhesion, im-
pact resistance, etc.
In nearly all cases, trialkoxy silanes
first undergo an hydrolysis step forming
organofunctional silanols which then un-
dergo a condensation reaction with OH
or similar groups on the surface, resin, or
even another silane silanol group. In fact,
with each other in this way to manufac-
ture silicones.
Research in the ‘90s focused on in-
creasingly more complex R2 groups which
quite often performed great in the lab but
were not always cost-effective. In many
cases, the improved properties could be
achieved with high levels of standard or-
ganofunctional silanes at less cost.
In this paper, we describe a simple
direction that these silanes have evolved
in over the years. The trialkoxy silane
moieties are directly appended to silicone
polymers forming a chemical chimera of
both species.
Silane modified polymers
This conceptually simple evolution of
the trialkoxy silane monomer evolved
from attaching silane monomers to
silicone polymers. These Silmer® TMS
branded polymers are available with
linear di-functional or pendant multi-
functional architectures.
We have done a significant amount of
application work with these polymersi.
In a typical set of data (Chart 1), a series
a white cotton fabric swatch, cured and
subjected to stain testing with mustard,
oil and vinegar dressing, and red wine.
An average rating (1-10 best) is shown in
the chart.
Two experimental emulsions, labeled
with BQ series names, include fluorosili-
cone for added stain resistance. All of the
film formers shown as yellow bars pro-
vide substantial protection relative to the
untreated control.
In a second set of experiments, these
film forming emulsions were upgraded
with 7% of Silmer TMS Di-10 shown in
the blue set of bars. The stain resistance is
even further improved in this event. We
have seen this effect of improved stain
resistance from film formers further en-
hanced by Silmer TMS addition on alumi-
num, paper, leather and fiberglass surfaces.
The improved stain repellency is
believed to come from the hydropho-
bicity. We have not evaluated oleopho-
bicity in most cases, but have reported
enhanced stain protection from anchored
silicones before ii.
Contact angles (Chart 2) of a series of

4 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021

 One Evolutionary Path of Organofunctional Silanes: AlkoxySilane Functional Silicones
CHART 1. Stain Resistance on Cotton
CHART 2. Contact angles on glass treated with linear Silmer TMS
linear Silmer® TMS types on glass are shown against untreated
glass and IDD treated glass. In general, the linear difunctional
materials with highest values of x give the most impact on con-
tact angle and stain repellency. We see similar trends on alumi-
num, fiberglass and paper.
We have also shown these products to be effective in concrete
treatments to minimize water pickup. Chart 3 shows a series of
commercial and experimental Silmer® TMS products evaluated for
this purpose. The results are compared to no treatment and treat-
ment with a basic film forming emulsion, Siltech E-2150. In this
case, two pendant high MW materials show the best performance
and all are superior to the controls. The experimental TMSF Di-
H1 structure has fluoroalkyl groups on the backbone yet we can
achieve the same performance without fluorine by using TMS C7.
April 2021 ­www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 5
FEATURE
and their Applications
Finally, in Chart 4 we show water uptake of treated con-
crete tiles which have been immersed. The Silmer TMS Di-50
and C-2053, a partially hydrolyzed version of TMS Di-10, show
excellent performance. Pre-hydrolyzing these materials often
shows an enhancement of properties.
Adhesion Promotion
Regarding adhesion promotion, the accepted paradigm pre-
dicts that the polymeric silane containing materials would
not be as effective at adhesion promotion as a monomeric
trialkoxysilane. However, we find that using these polymers
with monomeric silanes can show a synergistic improvement
in adhesion. In this use lower MW TMS types such as Silmer
TMS Di-10 are more effective.
 One Evolutionary Path of Organofunctional Silanes: AlkoxySilane Functional Silicones
FEATURE
and their Applications

CHART 3. Water pickup on Silmer TMS treated concrete tiles shown by rating (1-10 best)

CHART 4. Water pickup on treated concrete tiles

In Table 1, we evaluate two commercial
silicone sealants with and without Silmer
TMS and other promoters. One of two
different catalysts are used. These blends
are added at 2% loading and adhesion
to PVC is reported as a rating 1-10 best.
We find that we need an aminotrialkoxy
silane or an aminosilicone (Silamine® D2
EDA or Silmer® NH Di-8) with the Silmer
TMS Di-10 additive to see substantial ad-
hesion promotion. The very nucleophilic
and basic primary amine seems critical to
improving adhesion in these somewhat
unique conditions.
Table 2 shows adhesion promotion
in a commercial silicone sealant. The
Silmer TMS Di-10 polymer is blended
with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane in
2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 ratios or blended with
the triethoxy analogue (1:1). The me-
thoxy silane did not need catalysis, but
the ethoxy version was catalyzed with
several different catalysts. These blends
are added to a commercial condensa-
tion cured silicone sealant at 5% load-
ing and adhesion to PVC is reported
as a rating 1-10 best. The improved
performance with higher blend ratios of
Silmer TMS Di-10 over the silane im-
plies the polymer is improving adhesion.
Resin Modification
Modifying resins to enhance performance
is well known with silane monomers.
This application also works with the
Silmer TMS product. We have reported
the effect of these materials on resins
elsewhere iii. In that work, we showed
Silmer TMS materials interacted with
OH groups on a UV cured resin improv-
ing tear strength flexibility and hardness.
In the interest of space, we will not fur-
ther elaborate on that application herein.
Conclusions
Traditional trialkoxy silanes are highly

6 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021

 One Evolutionary Path of Organofunctional Silanes: AlkoxySilane Functional Silicones
FEATURE
and their Applications

TABLE 1. Various reactive silicones post added to commercial silicone sealants

Sealant Additive A (1%) Additive B (1%) Catalyst Rating 10 (best)

Commercial Sealant A NaCure 4000 0

Commercial Sealant B DBTDL 0

Commercial Sealant A TMS Di-10 NaCure 4000 1

Commercial Sealant A C-2053 NaCure 4000 1

Commercial Sealant A TMS Di-8 NaCure 4000 2

Commercial Sealant A NCO Di-10 NaCure 4000 2

Commercial Sealant A NCO Di-10 DBTDL 2

Commercial Sealant A TMS Di-0 NaCure 4000 3

Commercial Sealant B TMS Di-10 Eugenol DBTDL 3

Commercial Sealant A Silmer NH Di-8 DBTDL 3
Commercial Sealant A Silmer NH Di-8 DBTDL 3
Commercial Sealant A Silmer NH Di-8 NaCure 4000 4
Commercial Sealant B TMS Di-0 Silamine D2 EDA NaCure 4000 5
Commercial Sealant A Silamine D2 EDA NaCure 4000 5
Commercial Sealant A Silamine D2 EDA DBTDL 6
Commercial Sealant A TMD Di-10 DBTDL 7

Commercial Sealant A TMS Di-0 DBTDL 7

Commercial Sealant B TMS Di-10 Silamine D2 EDA DBTDL 7.5

TABLE 2. Adhesion of silicone sealant enhanced with Silmer TMS Di-10 and aminopropyl effective and useful products. What we
silanes blends. have shown is that the silicone bound
trialkoxy silanes are useful with reac-
Rating
Additive A Additive B Ratio A:B tive silicone polymers, enhancing the
1-10 best
dried film properties of those polymers.
2:1 10
aminopropyltrimethoxysilane Increased contact angle, stain resistance,
1:1 7 and water resistance have all been dem-
(no cat)
1:2 7 onstrated on paper, leather, concrete and
aluminum surfaces.
aminopropyltriethoxysilane
1:1 9 The silicone network improves the hap-
(K-Kat 675)
tic properties of the final system.
Silmer TMS type silicone polymers
TMS type X=10 aminopropyltriethoxysilane
1:1 10 with trialkoxy groups are very unique
(K-Kat 651)
and offer enhancement of many proper-
ties when used alone or with other con-
aminopropyltriethoxysilane
1:1 10 densation reactive resins. They can be
(K-Kat 678)
used alone or with traditional silanes to
enhance adhesion promotion.
aminopropyltriethoxysilane
1:1 10 Further details and experiments are
(K-Kat 670)
available upon request. CW

i. Steve Wilkowski et.al. Reactive Siloxane Emulsions in Waterborne Coatings, Proceeding of the Waterborne Symposium, 2018, University of
Southern Mississippi.
ii. Bob Ruckle et.al. Fluoro-Free Anti-Graffiti Properties from A Novel OrganoSilicone, European Coatings Show 2017, Vincentz press.
iii. Bob Ruckle et.al. Novel Silicone Materials Provide A Secondary Cure for Energy-Cured Silicone Acrylates Radtech Europe 2019.

April 2021 ­www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 7

GMI: Concrete Surface Treatment
Chemicals Market Size Worth
$15 Billion by 2025

T
he concrete surface treatment Curing compounds in the concrete treatment chemicals market which will
chemicals market size will likely surface treatment chemicals market are hold a share of more than 25 percent of
surpass USD $15 billion by 2025, likely to gain at a growth rate of over 6.5 the total industry by the end of the study
according to a new research report by percent in the study period. The product period. The products are used both dur-
Global Market Insights, Inc. is used for providing optimal curing when ing new construction and repair activities,
Escalating growth in the global popu- protection from the solar heat is desired. and the product demand from this sector
lation is likely to be a key growth driver It is majorly used for applications on hor- would substantially increase in the future.
in the concrete surface treatment chemi- izontal surfaces such as streets, highways, Industrial development in emerging mar-
cals market. Asia Pacific region is the curb paving, airports, runways, etc. It is kets is one of the major reasons behind the
major reason behind the increased rate of mostly applied through spraying proce- growth of this sector in the study period.
population growth. dure. After spraying, it forms a thin layer Europe is one of the significant re-
The global population has risen from on the surface to block water loss and gions contributing to the growth of
6.1 billion in 2000 to 7.6 billion in 2018. results in accurate curing of the surface. the concrete surface treatment chemi-
Out of this, China holds an 18.4 percent The industrial sector is an important cals market. Population in Europe has
share, followed by India accounting for end-user segment in the concrete surface been increasing in recent years and has
17.7 percent. Increasing population and
rising urbanization are some factors driv-
ing the construction industry in the emerg-
ing nations. This, in turn, would boost the
demand for various concrete surface treat-
ment chemicals over the study period.
Another growth enabler of concrete
surface treatment chemicals market is the
rising demand for construction chemicals.
Construction chemicals help in improv-
ing the performance of the structures, are
more economical, ease the installation
procedures, augment the chemical and
physical characteristics of the structures
and make the structures more resistant to
adverse weather conditions. These ben-
efits will propel the market, especially in
the developing regions.

8 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021

 GMI: Concrete Surface Treatment Chemicals Market Size Worth $15 Billion by 2025 FEATURE
reached 742 million in 2018 from 727
million in 2000. Increasing immigrants,
urbanization and improved living stan-
dards of people will increase the prod-
uct demand in the construction market.
Rising infrastructural projects and con-
struction activities in this region will, in
turn, boost the market. The construction
industry of the region employs more
than 18 million people and contributes
approximately nine percent to the re-
gional GDP. Hence, developments in this
sector would positively impact the mar-
ket in the forecast period.
Developments in the Asia Pacific con-
struction industry would be the major
growth driver for the concrete surface
treatment chemicals market. The global
construction sector is expected to expand
in the next decade to a nominal value of
more than USD $6 trillion. Asia Pacific
held a significant share of this value and
this share will grow in the coming years.
This would in turn increase concrete
surface treatment chemicals demand.
Increasing urbanization, growing popula-
tion in China & India, cheap workforce,
expanding economic growth are some of
the factor responsible for the growth in
the Asia Pacific construction market.
China plays a major role in the mar-
ket. The country’s construction industry
achieved 17 percent growth in market
value in 2016. With both public and
private investment in infrastructure ris-
ing in the country, China will continue
to play a major role in the market in the
future. Changing regulatory framework
has also helped in driving the market.
For instance, Smart City Mission and
the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and
Urban Transformation (AMRUT) by the
Indian government, relaxation of real es-
tate regulations by China, etc. are some
examples which would lead to increased
construction activities in the region, in
turn escalating concrete surface treat-
ment chemicals demand in the forecast
period. Limited use of certain products in
developing regions due to the abundance
of other resources and use of harmful raw
materials in the product are some factors
which could limit the growth industry in
the coming years.
The concrete surface treatment
April 2021 ­www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 9
chemicals market is categorized, based on
the product, as curing compounds, mold
release agents, sealants and others. Mold
release agents occupy the largest market
share in the global industry and are likely
to grow by a CAGR of more than seven
percent in the forecast timeframe. Mold
release agents help in avoiding the adhe-
sion of freshly placed cement to a form-
ing surface. Water-based mold release
agents would gain greater importance in
the coming years due to its environmental
benefits. Other functions of mold release
agents include minimizing the occurrence
of blowholes, providing a better surface
finish along with minimum loss of water
from the cement.
Sealants held a considerable share in
the market in 2018. The product is major-
ly used in the residential and commercial
end-user industries to seal cracks in floors
and walls and for protection against wa-
ter, moisture and dust. Developments in
the global construction industry coupled
with a growing population in the devel-
oping regions will drive this segment’s
growth in the coming years.
Based on end-user, the market is seg-
mented into residential, commercial, in-
dustrial and municipal. The commercial is
the largest end-user section which is likely
to gain by more than six percent CAGR
during the forecast timeframe. Extensive
usage of the product by the commercial
end-users like office buildings, retail out-
lets, garages, hospitals, institutions, etc.
for repairing and maintaining the quality
of the concrete will drive its growth.
Municipal end-user category held a
share of approximately 20 percent of the
overall concrete surface treatment chemi-
cals market in 2018. Curing compounds
are significantly used in this end-user
market to provide water retention to the
surface exposed to sunlight. Municipal
includes bridges, road construction and
other civil structures. This segment is
likely to grow at a CAGR of about six
percent in the coming years. Progress in
the emerging construction market will
expand this segment’s growth during the
forecast period.
The worldwide concrete surface treat-
ment chemicals market was dominated
by the Asia Pacific region, which account-
ed for more than half of the market share
in 2018. High production capacity and
rising demand from regions like China,
India, Japan, and South Korea has re-
sulted in the region’s dominant position
in the market. The product is extensively
used in the construction industry which
has been booming in the emerging econo-
mies in the past years. Rising population,
economic growth and improving govern-
ment expenditure on infrastructural de-
velopments are some of the factors for the
high CAGR growth in the region.
Another region occupying a sig-
nificant share in the market is North
America. Even though the construction
market in the region is nearly mature,
presence of a large number of product
manufacturers in the region has helped
the company to maintain its position.
As the product is used for repair and re-
plenishment, its demand would increase
in the forecast timeframe. The region is
likely to exhibit a CAGR of more than
6% in the study period. CW
FEATURE Anti-Graffiti Coatings Market to Witness a CAGR of 4% through 2029; Finds PMR Study
Anti-Graffiti Coatings
Market to Witness a
CAGR of 4% through
2029; Finds PMR
Study
Manufacturers likely to witness steady growth in the U.S. and Europe.
A
ccording to the insights from a report by Persistence
Market Research, the anti-graffiti coatings market is
expected to witness steady growth over the forecast
period 2019 to 2029 owing to the rising awareness regarding
special-purpose coatings in developed countries. The market is
expected to witness significant growth with a CAGR of over
4% through 2029.
Manufacturers Likely to Witness Steady
Growth in the U.S. and Europe
The emergence of anti-graffiti coatings as a promising solution
for undesired graffiti art over the walls of residential, institu-
tional, and commercial buildings has resulted in a drastic in-
crease in the sales in developed regions such as North America
and Europe. The total costs of investments in graffiti clean-
ing and removal in these regions has grown significantly over
the past couple of years. For instance, annual graffiti cleaning
costs in Los Angeles are around US$ 140 Mn. In the countries
of Europe, such as Germany and the UK, the annual costs of
graffiti cleaning are over US$ 700 Mn and US$ 1.5 Bn respec-
tively. This has resulted in high demand for cost-effective and
long-lasting anti-graffiti coatings in the North America and
Europe regions.
As a result, the North America and Europe anti-graffiti
coatings markets are expected to grow at lucrative CAGR of
over 4.5% over the forecast period 2019 to 2029.
Increasing Number of Actions against the Acts of
10 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021
Vandalism to Drive the Growth of the Global Anti-Graffiti
Coatings Market.
The subject of graffiti still remains as a controversial topic
as it is also a major form of vandalism besides being a source
of statement and self-expression. Over the past years, graffiti
art has been adopted as a prominent source of expression by
vandals across various geographies. Consequently, the demand
for anti-graffiti coatings has increased, and this is expected to
drive the growth of the global anti-graffiti coatings market.
The global anti-graffiti coatings market has been segmented
on the basis of material used for the production of anti-graffiti
coatings, their different types on the basis of durability and
end-uses, as well as seven prominent regions of the world.
• By material, the global anti-graffiti coatings market is ex-
pected to witness prominent sales from segments such as sili-
cone and polyurethane.
• By type, the global anti-graffiti coatings market is ex-
pected to witness lucrative growth from the permanent type of
anti-graffiti coatings. This is majorly driven by the demand for
durable and long-lasting coatings from consumers.
• By end use, it is expected that the significant consumption
of anti-graffiti coatings would be from the commercial and in-
stitutional infrastructure. However, the growing applications
of anti-graffiti coatings for the protection of automotive and
transportation assets is expected to project a lucrative growth
to the transportation end-use sector of the anti-graffiti coat-
ings market. CW
FEATURE New Advances in UV-Curable Soft-Touch Coatings
New Advances in UV-Curable
Soft-Touch Coatings
Lisa Spagnola, Jeffrey Klang, Manjuli Gupta, Sartomer, Americas;
Xavier Drujon, Sartomer, Europe
S
oft-touch or soft-feel coatings are
employed to create a variety of hap-
tic effects on plastic, paper and met-
al substrates. Haptic effects can improve
a consumer’s perceived value of the prod-
uct, and influence them to buy the prod-
uct over other similar products. In fact
a recent study by California Polytechnic
State University showed not only did cus-
tomers prefer cosmetics packaged in a
container with a soft touch coating versus
a traditional coating, they were willing to
pay a 5% price premium.1 Thus
it is no wonder interest in soft-
touch coatings has increased in
recent years. While the study
by California Polytechnic State
University focused on cosmetic
packaging, soft-touch coatings
span a variety of markets includ-
ing automotive interiors, small
electronics, and appliances.
With the broad range of mar-
kets comes the need for a broad
range of feel types. In general, a
feel type is described in terms of
things known to be soft, such as
rubber, velvet, peach skin, rose
petals, silk, leather, suede, etc.
Not only are these terms highly
subjective, the perceived feel
varies from person to person. A
coating that one observer might
describe as velvety, another
may find silky. Studies have shown that
factors such as age2 and sex3 affect how
feel is perceived. In a previous lab study
we chose observers of various age, sex,
and training.4
Although most could recognize a soft
coating, their perception of which was
the most pleasing varied widely. While
12 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021
we found atomic-force microscopy
(AFM) measurements can distinguish
between feel types when the coating
chemistry was different,4 additional test-
ing showed that as the chemistry became
more similar, the relationship between
adhesion force and feel no longer held.
In addition, AFM cannot distinguish the
quality of the feel. Thus, for our subse-
quent studies we used trained observ-
ers to judge the quality and type of the
feel effects.
Figure 1: Idealized two-part soft-touch coating structure.
Since consumer products are exposed
to repeated wear and contaminants
throughout their life cycle, soft feel coat-
ings must also be durable. Balancing
soft feel with wear resistance is an ad-
ditional challenge. Wear resistance for
soft feel coatings is typically created by
crosslinking multifunctional isocyanates
with polyols. This process creates hard
regions from the isocyanates distributed
in softer regions created by the polyols,
as can be seen in the idealized struc-
ture in Figure 1. While these two-part
systems have excellent feel properties,
two-part urethane coatings have dis-
advantages such as pot life limitations,
long cure times, and hazards of isocya-
nate handling. To address these issues as
well as to improve durability, formula-
tors and product designers look increas-
ingly toward UV-cured soft-feel
coatings.
In a previous study, in-
spired by two-part isocyanate
systems, we demonstrated our
ability to create a UV-curable
soft-touch coating with good
feel and improved mar, abra-
sion, stain, and chemical
resistance compared to con-
ventional two-part urethane
coatings.4 The system created
had a silky feel. Achieving soft-
touch coatings of various feel
types is necessary to fit the re-
quirements of a wide range of
applications and products. This
article details the development
of a range of custom designed
UV-curable soft touch products
that have tailorable feel and
improved properties over two-
part urethane coatings.
Experimental
Table 1 shows a base soft-touch coating
formulation. Silica was added as both a
surface additive to impart soft feel and
as a matting agent. The acrylate resin
was dissolved in solvent to reduce the

Table 1: Soft-touch coating base formulation.
Table 2: Adjusting feel type with crosslinker concentration.
Figure 2: Properties of UA6 and UA7 as a function of crosslinker content.
viscosity and to provide enough shrink-
age to allow for the migration of silica
to the film’s surface, which is necessary
to reduce friction and impart a soft feel.5
After applying the formulations, the
panels were dried for 15 minutes at 60
°C to remove the solvent. The coatings
were then cured with two mercury arc
lamps at 400 W/in and a belt speed of 50
fpm resulting in a final film thickness of
2 mils. The panels were allowed to stand
overnight before testing for abrasion,
solvent, food stain, sunscreen, and in-
sect-repellent resistance, pencil hardness,
April 2021 ­www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 13
New Advances in UV-Curable Soft-Touch Coatings FEATURE
and adhesion.
Experienced observers rated the feel
of the panels by type and quality. We
divided the range of observed feel into
three regions: rubbery, velvety, and silky.
Rubbery describes a coating close to rub-
ber, which has more grip (less slip) than
a silky (silk-like feel) coating. A velvety
coating has a slip/grip feel between that
of rubbery and silky. The observers also
rated the quality of the soft touch on a
scale of one to five, with one being a poor
match and five being an exact match to
the coating’s respective feel type.
Results And Discussion
In our initial screening, we used di-
functional urethane acrylate oligomers
(UA) to mimic the softer polyol regions
in the traditional two-part systems and
trifunctional acrylate crosslinkers (M)
for the harder isocyanate regions.4 We
found that UA5:M1 at 60:40 created
a good silky feel with improved dura-
bility over the conventional two-part
urethane system tested. By reducing the
amount of crosslinker, we were able to
achieve a velvety feel, but the durabil-
ity of the coating decreased significantly
(Table 2). Since a reduction of cross-
linker alone cannot be used to change
the feel type while maintaining durabil-
ity, we set out to design new urethane
acrylates and crosslinkers.
The new difunctional urethane ac-
rylates UA6 and UA7 were evaluated
in the same way as UA5 by varying the
concentration of crosslinker M1 (Figure
2). While UA6 and UA7 both create a
rubbery coating with 10% crosslinker
on resin, UA6 has several advantages
over UA7. First, we achieve a feel with
more grip (velvety) using UA6 without
the need to decrease the crosslinker as
much. The ability to use higher levels of
crosslinker is advantageous as it allows
for higher crosslink density and better
coating durability. In addition, UA6 had
a better overall feel quality than blends
with UA7 (not shown in figures). While
we were able to achieve a rubbery feel
at 90% urethane oligomer UA6 and
10% crosslinker (M1), the films did not
have the desired durability. When we in-
creased the level of crosslinker (M1) to
17.5%, we were able to achieve a rub-
bery coating with improved properties
over the previous rubbery coating that
contained 10% crosslinker (Figure 3).
In our second approach we attempted
to create a soft touch coating with an ex-
isting trifunctional acrylate crosslinker
and low functional acrylate monomers
(AM) as the soft connecting segments in-
stead of difunctional urethane acrylates.
Formulations with the existing cross-
linkers and monomer (AM1) did not
achieve the desired combination of feel
and properties (Table 3). Formulating
newly designed crosslinker, M6, with
FEATURE New Advances in UV-Curable Soft-Touch Coatings

acrylate monomer, AM1, at 60:40 cross-

linker to acrylate monomer, resulted in
both good feel and good durability, as
seen in Table 4, formulation 53. After
varying the monomer formulated with
M6 to screen for improved feel and du-
rability, we found M6 with AM5 had
the best velvety feel of all our previously
tested formulations (Table 4) along with
good durability.

Conclusions
Newly designed oligomer UA6 and
crosslinker M6 allow us to create UV-
curable soft-feel coatings with a range
of haptic sensations (Figure 4). These
new products show improved durabil-
ity over the industry standard two-part
urethane coating tested and exhibit little
to no decrease in soft-touch feel quality.
Figure 3: Properties of UA6 as a function of crosslinker content. In addition to enhanced durability, the
UV-curable systems have infinite pot life,
short cure times and no free isocyanate.
Current work focuses on 100% UV-
curable and waterborne UV-PUD to pro-
vide low-VOC options to formulators
and convertors. CW
Table 3: Properties for select formulations for crosslinkers with acrylate monomer.
References
1. Keif, M.; Twomey, C.; Stoneman,
A. Consumer Perception of Tactile
Packaging: A
Research Study on Preferences of Soft
Touch and Hi Rise Coatings in Cosmetic
Packaging. J. Appl. Packaging Res. 2015,
7, 1, 59-72.
2. May, A.C.; Stewart, J.L.; Tapert,
Table 4: Properties for new crosslinker M6 with acrylate monomers.
S.F.; Paulus, M.P. The effect of age on neu-
ral processing of pleasant soft touch stim-
uli. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
2014, 8, 52.
3. Essick, G. K.; McGlone, F.; Dancer,
C.; Fabricant, D.; Ragin, Y.; Phillips, N.;
Jones, T.; Guest, S. Quantitative assess-
ment of pleasant touch. Neurosciences
and Biobehavioral Reviews 2010, 34,
192-203.
4. Drujon, X.; Spagnola, L.; Moeller
G. Most Recent Developments in UV-
Curable Soft-Touch Coatings. UV and EB
Technology 2016, 4, 18.
5. Garber, A.; Seggern, E. Tougher tex-
ture: Improving the performance of hap-
tic coatings for graphic arts. Eur. Polym.
Figure 4: Properties of best UV-curable soft touch formulations.
J. 2015, 66, 57-66.

14 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021

FEATURE Haptic Coatings

Haptic Coatings
A New and Selective 3D Coating Technology

Thomas W. Schmidt, Xing-Sheng Jiang, and Li Chuan Lillian Tseng

Abstract
A new and selective additive 3D coating
technology was developed and imple-
mented for mass production. Besides
attractive visual design opportunities, a
strong focus is on the touch experience
of final products. Haptic perceptions can
be controlled by application of selective
multi-layer 3D textures, by the shape
and thickness of these 3D textures, and
by the coating formulation itself. The
coating formulation can be fine-tuned to
achieve soft-touch nubuck-like effects,
as well as smooth, slippery, sticky effects
or rough sandpaper-like effects. In com-
bination with attractive colors such as
metallics, color shifting or thermochro-
mic colors and finishes with controlled
matte or glossy surfaces, a huge freedom
of design is allowed.
Today, haptic coatings are applied on
textile substrates for the sporting goods
industry. The haptic coatings are very
robust and only use safe and environ-
mentally friendly chemistry. They fulfill
all mechanical requirements for applica-
tion on sneakers and sports apparel. In
addition, full compliance to the strict-
est restricted substances list (RSL) and
manufacturing restricted substances list
(MRSL) can be achieved.
With the selective additive coating ap-
proach, highest material efficiency can be
achieved. This revolutionary approach
to sneaker manufacturing improves the
sustainability and the environmental
footprint of the supply chain for sports
footwear and garments. Cutting waste
does not exist and material is only ap-
plied where it is needed. Huafeng, as a
T2 supplier, moved into a new business
model of component manufacturing
with haptic coatings. Component manu-
facturing allows a lean manufacturing
chain, full accountability on quality and
more flexibility in the supply chain.
Introduction
The traditional manufacturing of ath-
letic footwear is a multi-step labor in-
tensive process. The upper materials
of a sneaker are usually composed of
many different materials. The purchase
of all these separate materials from dif-
ferent suppliers has to be coordinated
carefully to meet delivery deadlines
and quality expectations. In many cases
minimum quantity orders, logistics, and
shipment issues complicate the situa-
tion. For a TIER-1 shoe factory, this can
be a troublesome and hard to control
process. In addition, the various materi-
als have to be attached to each other.
Traditionally, this is done by stitching
operations, and in some cases by hot
melt lamination processes. In any case,

Figure 1. Schematic cross section of a haptic coating system on sandwich mesh.

16 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021


this creates a lot of manual labor and
cost. Most materials are delivered as
rolls and need to be cut to size before
attachment. This creates cutting loss
and cutting waste that is difficult to re-
cycle. Haptic, the new selective additive
3D coating technology, addresses all
these above mentioned disadvantages
of traditional footwear manufactur-
ing and offers solutions for better de-
sign, more sustainability and less labor
cost.1 Haptic was introduced to the
market in early 2015 and since then has
shown rapid growth and success.
Haptic Technology and
Advantages
Chemistry and Application Technology
Haptic is usually applied on textile sub-
strates based on synthetic fibers. For
athletic footwear, polyester or polyes-
ter/nylon sandwich mesh is usually the
best substrate material. Haptic chemis-
try is based on high-solids water-based
polyurethane dispersions (PUDs).2
Curing at room temperature is achieved
by mixing isocyanate hardeners into the
formulation shortly before application
with a pot life of 2 – 4 h. The basic idea
of haptic coatings is to apply a very
thick 3D coating in specific areas of the
substrate while other areas stay uncoat-
ed and provide full textile functional-
ity such as breathability and flexibility.
High coating thickness can be achieved
by high-solid formulations (up to 75%
solids), high- viscosity thixotropic base
coats, and a multi-layer application sim-
ilar to digital 3D printing technologies
that have created huge attention in the
market recently. However, haptic today
is not applied by digital means but by
screen printing technology. Both manu-
al and automatic screen printing can be
used. Special automatic screen printing
machines were developed to ensure high
precision printing in a multi-layer ap-
proach. Figure 1 shows a typical multi-
layer haptic coating consisting of two
main coating formulations, i.e., a base
coat that provides most of the coating
thickness and a top coat that provides
color, gloss, and touch perception.
The top/surface coat will not only
provide color and gloss but can also be
April 2021 ­www.coatingsworld.com Coatings World | 17
Figure 2. Microscopic cross section of a haptic coating.
modified for various touch perceptions.
Depending on the coating formulation,
soft touch, micro texture, rough texture
and sandpaper effects can be achieved.
By adding more layers of base coat on
top of the first color coat, a second
level of height can be achieved. Overall
design can create uncoated areas and
hole-like structures in the basecoat and
topcoat, allowing the observers to see
through down to the substrate or down
to the first color coat. In that way,
multi-level and multi-color designs can
be achieved, something never seen be-
fore on a sneaker.
Quality athletic footwear has many
harsh requirements. Shoes face an in-
tensive wear process, and coating and
mesh need to be prepared to perform.
Haptic coatings are robust due to
chemical crosslinking and high coating
thickness. In addition, the coatings ad-
here very well to the synthetic fibers not
only because of chemical compatibility
but also because of physical penetra-
tion into the knitted structures of the
fabrics. Haptic coatings can even fill
up small holes in the sandwich mesh
to fully cover the substrate without
telegraphic effects and provide smooth
surfaces. Figure 2 shows a microscopic
picture of a cross section.
It can be seen that the base coat layer
penetrates deep into the fabric material
and physically hooks up to the fiber
structure resulting in exceptional strong
bonding and durable products.
Haptic Coatings FEATURE
Manufacturing Advantages
of Haptic 3D Coatings
Along with the highly durable quality
of haptic coatings, they offer many ad-
vantages during the design and manu-
facturing process, and allow lean and
efficient supply chains. With haptic
technology, Huafeng as a typical TIER-2
textile supplier could, for the first time,
move into a component supply business
model. Instead of rolls of textile materi-
al, now ready-to-assemble, upper com-
ponents are supplied to TIER-1 shoe
factories. This business model creates
advantages as now Huafeng takes full
accountability for quality and delivery,
and relaxes the TIER-1 logistics chal-
lenge sourcing various materials from
various suppliers. For the sports brand,
it also becomes easy to manage the sup-
ply chains as less TIER-2 suppliers are
involved. Most importantly, lead time
can be significantly shortened and clear
responsibilities for quality are defined
(Figure 3).
Screen printing technology can be
automated quite easily compared to
stitching operations. By applying hap-
tic coatings for upper design, there is
no need for joining other materials on
top of the base mesh by a sewing op-
eration. This results in very efficient
and less labor intensive production of
footwear uppers.
FEATURE Haptic Coatings
Huafeng
Figure 3. Manufacturing advantages of haptic footwear uppers.
Sustainability
Considerations
Today, sustainability is a must for all
new developments in the sporting goods
industry. Right from the beginning, hap-
tic coatings were developed with a clear
goal of offering the best sustainabil-
ity along with hard fact manufacturing
and cost advantages. Two main features
lead to high sustainability: haptic is an
additive manufacturing technology, and
haptic is fully water-based.
The additive manufacturing ap-
proach allows building up coating
thickness step-by-step. During that pro-
cess, the coating material is selectively
added at the location where it is needed.
There is no cutting waste for disposal
and coating material loss is very low.
Material loss basically only appears
when colors are changed and screens
are cleaned. Therefore, highest material
18 | Coatings World ­www.coatingsworld.com April 2021
BRAND
Speed
Quality
Efficiency
TIER-1
efficiencies can be achieved.
The fully waterborne chemistry
guarantees safe and healthy work places
and is in full compliance with the goals
of ZDHC, an industrywide campaign to
face out toxic chemicals within the tex-
tile supply chains.3 Workers enjoy clean
and fresh air without inhaling solvents.
This is especially important when oper-
ating in less developed countries where
extraction systems are often not up to
requirements. Importantly, there is no
fire hazard in the factory and workers
do their job in a safe environment.
Conclusions
Haptic coatings offer a great new op-
portunity for athletic footwear manu-
facturing. High efficiency at low cost,
sustainable chemistry and application
processes leads to multiple benefits
within the supply chain. In addition the
selective additive 3D coating approach
allows creative spectacular designs not
seen before in the footwear industry. CW
References
1. T. W. Schmidt, V. Z. Fang, Haptic – a
new additive manufacturing technology
for footwear, apparel and accessories
applications, Proc. of the 2nd Intl. conf.
on Progress in Additive Manufacturing,
Research Publishing, Singapore,
ISSN:2424-8967::doi:10.3850/2424-
8967_V02-3251, 2016, 97 – 102.
2. Bayer Research 27, “Magic
Materials”, 2014, 28-31. www.re-
search.bayer.com/insquin.
3. ZDHC, www.roadmaptozero.com.
For more information:
Thomas.Schmidt@huafeng-cn.com,
+86 13615934792