Angus: Leveraging the use of alkanolamine additives during pigment grinding to improve the performance of waterborne coatings

The development and the optimization of water-based organic pigment dispersion remains a challenge in several application domains. Based on their ability to wet, grind, and stabilize pigments, specialized alkanolamines can significantly contribute to several critical performance improvements of the dry film, such as hiding power, colour strength, water resistance, or anti-corrosion protection. With their strong natural affinity for most of the pigment’s surfaces, combined with their ability to replace conventional counter ions of surfactants and dispersing agents, this comprehensive work unveils new features of alkanolamines when engaged with organic pigments to become a unique addition to formulators’ toolbox of additives. Water-based organic pigment dispersions have been prepared, and the evolution of particle size distributions during the grinding and along the storage time, as well as direct comparison of viscosity and colour strength have been performed demonstrating their significant contribution.