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Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Coating
Uses of PVC coated fabrics
• upholstery,
• luggage fabric,
• wall coverings,
• truck coverings,
• Floor coverings
• tarpaulins,
• raincoats
• Gloves, etc.
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PVC
• Wide range of industrial applications
• Processability by a wide variety of techniques
• Low cost
• Excellent physical properties
• Unique ability to be compounded with other
additives
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Monomer unit
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PVC
• An amorphous polymer
• Only 10% crystallinity
• Mostly linear – little branching
• Molecular weight 50,000-100,000
• Produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride, CH2=CH–
Cl
• Methods of polymerization are: suspension, emulsion,
mass, and solution polymerization
• Among these, suspension is contributing to about 80% of
total polymer production.
• The emulsion and mass processes contribute to about 10%
each
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Major types of PVC resins
• General purpose (G) resins
• Dispersion (D) resins
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Important characteristics PVC resins
G Type D Type
• Molecular weight • Molecular weight
• Particle size • Particle size
• Bulk density • Settling
• Dry flow • Plastisol viscosity
• Plasticizer absorption – With a specified
concentration of plasticizer
• Electrical conductivity
• Plastisol fusion
– Solvation of the resin by the
plasticizer
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Additives for PVC
• Plasticizers
• Heat stabilizers
• Fillers
• Lubricants
• Colorants
• Flame retardants
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Plasticizer - Form
• Liquids of low or negligible volatility OR
• Low molecular weight solids
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Plasticizer - Functions
• Improves PVC processability and impart to the
end product softness, flexibility, and
extensibility
• Lowers Tg and softening temperature,
• Reduces strength
• Increases impact resistance
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Plasticizer - Mechanism
• Lowering the intermolecular forces between
the polymer chains
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Plasticizer - Compatibility
• The plasticizer should be compatible with the
polymer, or else exudation will occur.
• Plasticizers that are highly compatible with
PVC are known as primary plasticizers
• Plasticizers that have limited compatibility are
known as secondary plasticizers.
– Secondary plasticizers are added to impart special
properties or for reducing costs.
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Plasticizer – Compatibility…
• Compatibility can be determined from clear
point, which is the temperature at which the
PVC–plasticizer mixture becomes clear.
– The lower the clear point temperature, the
greater is the compatibility
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Plasticizer - Efficiency
• This is the amount of plasticizer required to
produce a selected property of practical interest,
like:
– Hardness,
– Flexibility,
– Modulus.
• The efficiency of a plasticizer can also be gauged
by:
– The lowering of Tg,
– Changes in dynamic mechanical properties.
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Plasticizer - Permanence
• The plasticizer may be lost from the
compounded resin by:
– vaporization into the atmosphere,
– extraction in contact with a liquid, or
– migration into a solid in intimate contact with the
plasticized PVC.
• Permanence can be determined by weight loss
measurements on exposure to the extraction
media.
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Plasticizer types -1. phthalates
• The largest and most widely used group of plasticizers
• Di-2 ethylhexyl phthalate (DOP) and diisoctyl phthalate
(DIOP) are extensively used
• The lower chain length esters have high solvating
power but suffer from high volatility and poor low-
temperature properties.
• Medium-chain C8 phthalates possess optimum
properties.
• The longer-chain C10–C13 esters have reduced
solvating power and efficiency, though low volatility
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Plasticizer types -2. phosphates
• Organic esters of phosphoric acids.
• Important phosphate plasticizers:
– tricresyl phosphate (TCP)
– trixylyl phosphate (TXP)
• Triaryl phosphates offer excellent flame
retardance, good solvating power and
compatibility, but poorer low-temperature
properties.
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Plasticizer types –3. aliphatic diesters
• Esters of adipic, azelaic, and sebacic acids AND
branched chain alcohols such as isooctanol, 2-
ethylhexanol, or isodecanol
• Impart low-temperature flexibility to PVC
compositions.
• Their compatibility is low, and they are
categorized as secondary plasticizers
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Plasticizer types -4. epoxies
• Epoxidized soya bean oil and linseed oil
exhibit good plasticizing and stabilizing
actions.
• They possess low volatility and good
resistance to extraction.
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Plasticizer types -5. polymeric
• The majority of this class are saturated
polyesters, synthesized by the reaction of a
diol and dicarboxylic acid along with an end
capping agent, which may be a monohydric
alcohol or monocarboxylic acid.
• An increase in molecular weight results in
improved permanence and lower volatility but
adversely affects the low temperature
properties and compatibility
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Stabilizers
• Prevents PVC degradation due to:
– Heat
– Light, in the presence or absence of oxygen
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Heat stabilizers…
• Lead compounds
– Lead phosphate, dibasic lead stearate
• Organotin compounds
– Dibutyl tin laurate, and dibutyl tin maleate
• Compounds of other metals like barium,
cadmium, and zinc
– Barium, cadmium, and zinc salts of fatty acids like
laurates, stearates, and octoates
• Organic compounds
– epoxidized oils, phosphites, and polyhydric alcohols
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Oxygen& light stabilizers
• Anti-oxidants
– 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methyl-phenol and 3-(3,5-di-t-
butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) octadecyl propionate
• UV absorbers
– derivatives of 2-hydroxy benzophenone, benzo
triazoles, and so forth, or
– carbon black and titanium dioxide
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Fillers
• Main objective is reduction in cost, but they
can play a functional role by improved
processing, and desired properties of the end
product.
• The common fillers are:
– calcium carbonate fillers (marble dust),
– silicates (clay, talc, and asbestos),
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Lubricants
• Added to facilitate processing and control the
processing rate.
• Mineral oil, silicone oils, vegetable oils, and
waxes
• Metal stearates of Pb, Ba, Cd, and Ca may be
used for the dual purpose of stabilizing and
lubricating.
• The compatibility of lubricants is low, resulting
in their exudation at processing conditions
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Colorants
• Inorganic pigments:
– titanium dioxide,
– chromium oxide,
– Ultramarine blue,
– molybdate orange.
• Organic pigments
– phthalocyanines,
– quinacridines,
– benzidines.
• The inorganic pigments have excellent heat resistance,
light stability, and opacity.
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Flame retardants
• Inherent flame retardant property of PVC due
to the presence of a chlorine atom is affected
by the addition of flammable plasticizers.
• Antimony trioxide and borates of zinc and
barium are widely used as FR
• Chlorinated paraffins and phosphate ester
plasticizers also act as flame retardants.
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Plastisols
• Fluids in which fine PVC particles are
dispersed in plasticizers.
• Also called PVC pastes
• Do not contain any solvent or volatile
component.
• The viscosity of plastisols varies from pourable
liquids to heavy pastes
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Important Characteristics of Plastisol
• They are liquids/fluids and can be processed
in that condition.
– The processing conditions are determined by the
property of the paste at ambient temperature.
• On application of heat, when required, they
fuse to viscous solutions of polymer in
plasticizer, and on cooling result in familiar
plasticized PVC.
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Organosols
• An organosol is a plastisol containing volatile organic
solvent.
• Diluents (organic solvents) are added to reduce the
viscosity of plastisols, to make them suitable for spray,
roller, brush, and other forms of coatings.
• The diluents are nonsolvents of PVC, like toluene,
xylene, naphtha, and mineral spirits.
• As the diluent level increases, the viscosity passes
through a minima and then increases with further
dilution.
– This increase of viscosity is due to flocculation of the
plastisol resin
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Plastisols and Organosols - ingredients
• Resins
• Plasticizers
• Stabilsers
• Fillers
• Viscosity depressents
• Thickeners
• Blowing agents
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An example PVC coated fabric
Base cloth - tarpaulin
The different polyester yarn thicknesses range
from 280DTex to 2200DTex with the most
common being 1100DTex.
For example: an 8 x 7.5 weave basecloth consists of 8 yarns per cm in the WARP direction and
7.5 yarns per cm in the WEFT direction
A plain weave consists of single yarns in each direction only.
A full Panama (or Oxford) weave consists of two yarns running together in each direction, this
gives extra tear strength. A half Panama weave has two yarns running together in one
direction only, the yarn in the other direction is then a single yarn.
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Production process - tarpaulin
• Tarpaulin material is manufactured by coating a
liquid pvc paste directly onto the polyester
basecloth.
• Different coating methods include dipcoating,
knife over roll coating or airknife coating.
• Different layers contain different pvc formulations
to give the desired quality.
• The coated basecloth then runs through the oven
at about 200 ºC where it sets and becomes the
solid, flexible PVC as we know it.
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Tarpaulins
• Fabrics
– Polyester
– Nylon
– 250-350 gsm
• Coating
– PVC
– lacquered with acrylic or PU resin to impart high gloss,
reduce UV degradation, and reduce soiling
– PVC-coated fabric accepts artwork easily and can be
welded.
– For covers likely to be contaminated by fuels or oils,
neoprene, hypalon, or PU-coated fabrics are used
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Tarpaulins
• High-density polyethylene woven fabrics laminated on
both sides by low-density polyethylene films are also
being used
• For military use, tarpaulins should have camouflage
properties
• Vinyl-coated fabrics are being used for billboards.
Digitally produced, computer-driven, sharp, clear
images are very attractive for advertisement. Such
printed fabrics are attached to the sides of trucks and
tensioned by special equipment.
• These fabrics serve both as containment and
advertisement
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