Ambient temperature self-crosslinking latices using low generation PAMAM dendrimers as inter-particle crosslinking agents

This study focuses on one-component ambient temperature self-crosslinking latex coating compositions containing poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers in the role of eco-friendly crosslinking agents. Low generation amine-terminated PAMAM dendrimers of in the form of aqueous solution were added into acrylic latices containing diacetone acrylamide (DAAM) repeat units in their polymer structure. The latex storage stability and coating performance were evaluated and compared with the coating compositions containing the conventional adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) crosslinking agent. It was found that the latices containing PAMAM dendrimers, exhibited a long-term storage stability and provided crosslinked coating films of high gloss, transparency and mechanical performance comparable to ADH-based self-crosslinking latices. Moreover, PAMAM-crosslinked coatings exhibited excellent water-whitening resistance.