At present, there are high demand globally for polymers and coatings that can sense their environment and be responsive, and at the same time be able to perform multifunctional tasks. This paper will present the design, development and manufacturing of these emerging technologies and provide a thorough understanding of science and technology and principles on innovative and cost-effective formulations. Current global R&D activities and future trends will be discussed.

The surface of a coating can be rendered hydrophobic or hydrophilic by using additives that can migrate and orient to the coating/air surface. Surface properties e.g. scratch & mar resistance, self-cleaning, antigraffiti, de/anti-icing, recoatability, antifogging etc. are strongly influenced by the surface-active additive types. This paper will give an update of sophisticated and smart additive technologies of highly structured multifunctional architectures based on macromonomer technology.

Levulinic acid, produced directly from biomass, can be converted into essential building blocks that have the potential of replacing fossil-based chemicals. It can be used in coatings as cross-linking agent, low-VOC solvents, replacement for bis-phenol A, free radical initiator and green methacrylate.

A novel and facile strategy was proposed to construct a thermosetting/thermoplastic composite system, based on commercial epoxy resin and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), having both shape memory and self-healing properties. Thermoplastic material is capable of re-structuring consequently changing stiffness/modulus when temperature is above its melting temperature. In this study, PCL microfibres were used as plasticisers in epoxy resin based blends, which served as ‘hard segment’ to fix the temporary shape of the composites during shape memory cycles. Electrospun PCL membranes having a porous network structure were fabricated which helped ensure a homogenous distribution of fibrous PCL and optimised interactions between the PCL fibres and the epoxy resin. The self-healing capability was achieved by phase transition during the curing of the composites. The shape memory effect of such a thermosetting (rubber)/thermoplastic composite could be attributed to the designed structural nature of the thermoplastic network embedded within the thermosetting resin/rubber matrix.

After a short introduction of graphene structure and properties, this paper will present application of graphene in anticorrosion, conductivity and flame retardant technology. Its formulation with resin and application in improved waterborne coatings will be detailed.

Waterborne acrylic polymer chemistry allows control over particle morphology, particle size/mol.wt/ functionality/chemical composition distribution. In wood coatings, careful control of polymer particle morphology, the coalescent demand can be reduced significantly. This paper will show that by controlling the free radical polymerisation process combined with charge of the polymer dispersions, 1K superior primer properties on wooden substrate can be obtained. Control of polymer particle morphology is a powerful tool to design energy efficient coating systems.

Results from an ongoing evaluation of dirt pickup resistance in commercially available exterior architectural coatings from 11 countries around the world will be presented. Accelerated vs natural testing, regional differences, challenges and opportunities will be discussed.

Hybrid fluoro-silocon coating resin using Multifunctional Nano-particulate System as well as its functionalization is going to play a key role for easy clean, heat reflecting and anti-graffiti coatings. Creative using of the advanced resin will bring some innovation for smart coatings. Vison and know how to balance the excellent performance and its easy application property for advanced fluoro-silicon hybrid resin decide how to add business value and meet customer satisfaction for state of art high performance coating.

Crosslinking aromatic carbodiimides with acid functional polymers has advantages over traditional 2K PU coatings. It leaves no residual isocyanate monomer at room temperature leading to its use in heat sensitive substrates. It will discuss how earlier challenges have been mitigated and paved a way to this new technology which can have potential for various coatings substrates.

Branched vinyl ester modified acrylic technology offer outstanding water, UV and alkali and water whitening resistance, which significantly improve barrier properties and exterior durability of waterborne paints and waterproofing products. These hydrophobic polymers are also suitable for preparing superhydrophobic coatings.

We'll discuss a number of nanomaterials technologies that can be exploited to provide efficient antifouling interfaces that resist biomolecular and microbial adhesion and colonisation, and are amenable to industrially relevant coating technologies. In addition to the development of materials and coating technologies, the application of suitable biological characterisation techniques is critical to the development and tailoring of nanomaterial based antifouling coating platforms. We present state-of-the-art techniques that can be employed to provide significant insight into biomolecular fouling, microbial adhesion and colonisation.

Polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG) with different molecular weight was synthesized through high temperature thermal condensation with guanidine hydrochloride and 1,6-hexanediamine as the main materials, by controlling the reaction temperature and time as well as molar ratio of the reactants. Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride(PHMG) were then used to synthesize antibacterial modifier GPHMG with a polymerizable double bond via a ring-opening reaction. The GPHMG monomers were copolymerized with conventional acrylic monomers to produce acrylic emulsions, and then formulated as structural antibacterial coatings. The structure and molecular weight of PHMG and GPHMG were characterized by FT-IR, MALDI-TOF etc. Serial dilution method was used to study the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of GPHMG with different molecular weight, and antibacterial properties of structural antimicrobial coatings were evaluated by using spread plate count method to calculate sterilization rate. The results showed that the structural antimicrobial coatings exhibit relatively long-term antibacterial properties when compared with blending antibacterial coatings.