The oxidative drying of alkyd paint catalysed by metal complexes

The focus of this review paper is the transition metal chemistry involved in alkyd (paint) drying. A general introduction is given on the composition of a common alkyd paint and the latest insights in the structure of the dried alkyd film are discussed. The drying of an alkyd paint is an autoxidation process catalysed by transition metal salts. Thorough investigations have shed light on the role of the transition metals as catalysts in the drying process and a wealth of spectroscopic techniques have been used to monitor the autoxidation process and to analyse the autoxidation products. More recently, these techniques have been used to develop a test reaction for the rapid screening of new manganese and iron based drier catalysts. Promising new driers based on simple manganese complexes have been proposed as replacements for the environmentally unfriendly cobalt driers that are presently used in alkyd paints.